Cuba has arrested Chinese fentanyl kingpin 
Zhi Dong Zhang, known by the alias "Brother Wang", who escaped from custody in Mexico and is also wanted by the US.
Zhang is alleged to have worked closely with Mexico's Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation drug cartels — designated "foreign terrorist organizations" by Washington.
Zhang has reportedly transported more than 1,000kg of cocaine and nearly 2,000kg of fentanyl from Mexico to the US. Between 2020 and 2021, he laundered a jaw-dropping $20 million through a labyrinth of over 150 shell companies and 170 bank accounts.
His arrest was confirmed by the Security Secretariat.
It is not yet clear if Zhang will be deported from Cuba back to Mexico or a formal extradition process needs to be undertaken.
Detained in Mexico in Oct 2024, Zhang was initially held in a maximum-security prison in Mexico City awaiting a hearing for his extradition to the US, where a warrant has been issued for his arrest on money laundering charges, but he was inexplicably granted house arrest by a judge. On July 11, 2025, Zhang escaped from his house arrest by reportedly digging a tunnel from his monitored residence to another property.
Zhang is considered “a major international money laundering operator”. The trafficker was responsible for "establishing connections with other cartels for the transfer of fentanyl from China to Central America, South America, Europe, and the US.
barrons.com/news/cuba-capt
english.elpais.com/international/
english.elpais.com/international/
Zhi Dong Zhang, known by the alias "Brother Wang", who escaped from custody in Mexico and is also wanted by the US.
Zhang is alleged to have worked closely with Mexico's Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation drug cartels — designated "foreign terrorist organizations" by Washington.
Zhang has reportedly transported more than 1,000kg of cocaine and nearly 2,000kg of fentanyl from Mexico to the US. Between 2020 and 2021, he laundered a jaw-dropping $20 million through a labyrinth of over 150 shell companies and 170 bank accounts.
His arrest was confirmed by the Security Secretariat.
It is not yet clear if Zhang will be deported from Cuba back to Mexico or a formal extradition process needs to be undertaken.
Detained in Mexico in Oct 2024, Zhang was initially held in a maximum-security prison in Mexico City awaiting a hearing for his extradition to the US, where a warrant has been issued for his arrest on money laundering charges, but he was inexplicably granted house arrest by a judge. On July 11, 2025, Zhang escaped from his house arrest by reportedly digging a tunnel from his monitored residence to another property.
Zhang is considered “a major international money laundering operator”. The trafficker was responsible for "establishing connections with other cartels for the transfer of fentanyl from China to Central America, South America, Europe, and the US.
barrons.com/news/cuba-capt
english.elpais.com/international/
english.elpais.com/international/