Cuba captures Chinese drug fugitive ‘Brother Wang’ after Mexico escape

A Chinese national who United States authorities accuse of trafficking large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl into the US before being arrested and then escaping custody in Mexico was recaptured in Cuba, Mexican authorities said Wednesday.

Zhi Dong Zhang, alias “Brother Wang”, was indicted in federal court in Atlanta in 2022 on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

Mexican authorities captured him in Mexico City in October 2024 at the request of the US government. But a judge granted him house arrest and last July he escaped the home he was being held in under military guard.

On Wednesday, Mexico’s Security Cabinet said in a statement that the alleged trafficker, who had escaped Mexican authorities in July, was arrested in Cuba, but did not identify him by name. A federal official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the case, confirmed that it was Zhi Dong Zhang.

After escaping in Mexico, Zhang had travelled to Cuba and then to Russia where he was detained for illegal entry and returned to Cuba, according to another Mexican federal agent, who also requested anonymity to discuss the case. The agent said Zhang could be deported to Mexico.