PAN-PAS talks draw questions over Zambada’s Cuén claims
Original reporting: Noroeste Culiacán
What happened
Noroeste reported that Wendy Barajas Cortés urged opposition unity while sidestepping questions about a possible PAN-PAS alliance and Zambada’s account of his relationship with Cuén.
Reporting and context
Sinaloa PAN leader Wendy Barajas Cortés defended talks to build a united opposition while sidestepping questions about a possible alliance with the Partido Sinaloense and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada’s account of his relationship with Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda, according to Noroeste.
Asked Wednesday whether an alliance ahead of the 2027 election would offend Sinaloa residents, Barajas said opposition parties needed a common front. She confirmed meeting Tuesday in Mexico City with PRI federal lawmaker Mario Zamora Gatélum, PAS president Robespierre Lizárraga Otero and Cuén’s son, Héctor Melesio Cuén Díaz, to discuss Sinaloa’s future.
Barajas said she was holding talks with the PAS and argued that political parties and civic organizations should unite against Morena. Her comments described ongoing discussions, rather than announcing a finalized electoral alliance.
Noroeste reported that the questions concerned a letter released by Zambada’s defense in August 2024. In it, Zambada described Cuén, the PAS’s guiding political figure, as an old friend and his “compadre.” He claimed they were to attend a meeting outside Culiacán on July 25, the day he was detained in the United States. Zambada also claimed Cuén was killed at the place where he was abducted, contradicting the state prosecutor’s initial explanation.
The report placed the debate against Sinaloa’s continuing violence following the conflict between Los Chapitos and Los Mayos, which escalated in September 2024. It described homicides, disappearances and disruption to economic activity, without giving an aggregate casualty figure.
The article also recalled Lucero Guadalupe Sánchez López’s election to the state Congress in 2013 through a PAN-PAS-PT coalition. Her legislative immunity was removed in 2016 so federal prosecutors could investigate alleged use of false documents to enter Altiplano prison and visit Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The PAN later said she was not a party member.
Another figure cited was former investigative police chief Jesús Antonio Aguilar Íñiguez, who served under Mario López Valdez’s PAN-led coalition government. Noroeste cited a 2011 La Jornada report that Aguilar had been prosecuted and acquitted over alleged drug-trafficking links before returning to lead the force.
Original reporting: Noroeste.