Zhi Dong Zhang Transferred to U.S. Custody

Zhi Dong Zhang, aka "Brother Wang," a Chinese national accused of running a vast fentanyl, cocaine and money‑laundering network tied to Mexico’s Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels, was recaptured in Cuba and transferred into U.S. custody after an international manhunt. He was first arrested in Mexico in October 2024 and placed under house arrest, escaped in July through a hole in a wall, traveled on false papers and was detained in Havana after an apparent failed attempt to enter Russia. U.S. court documents and prosecutors in Atlanta allege Zhang exported and distributed roughly 1,000+ kg of cocaine and about 1,800–2,000 kg of fentanyl and laundered roughly $150 million a year through scores of shell companies and bank accounts. Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch thanked Cuba for its cooperation in the handover, reflecting coordinated multinational efforts to disrupt global fentanyl trafficking. The case has renewed criticism of Mexican judicial decisions that allowed his house arrest and underscored U.S. pressure on Mexico and China to curb precursor chemicals and cross‑border drug networks.