Pickup Truck Explosion Near AIFA Airport in Mexico City, Two Dead

Two men died after a vehicle exploded near the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA). One of the deceased, Francisco Beltrán, alias 'El Payín', is a presumed generator of violence and operator for the Sinaloa Cartel. According to journalist Luis Chaparro, 'El Payín' was a collaborator of an operator for the criminal organization, nicknamed 'El Meño', who would have a presence in the Valley of Mexico and various areas of the city. The two men, from Sinaloa, had just left AIFA in a black pickup truck when it exploded on the Mexico-Pachuca highway, at the height of Tecámac, State of Mexico. A video circulating on social media shows the moment the explosion occurs inside the vehicle, after which it loses control and crashes into a median. Preliminary investigations indicate that minutes before the attack, the driver had picked up 'El Payín' at AIFA, after he had allegedly disembarked from a flight from another entity. Authorities are analyzing the hypothesis that the vehicle was already transporting an explosive device, which may have been activated while they were circulating in the area, although other lines of investigation are not ruled out. After the explosion, security cordoned off the area while experts collected evidence to determine the origin of the blast and the mechanics of the attack. What do we know about 'El Meño', an operator of the Sinaloa Cartel? 'El Payín' would be one of the operators of Héctor Manuel Avendaño, alias 'El Meño', one of the main collaborators of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada. In July, the Attorney General's Office (FGR) confirmed the extradition of 'El Meño' to the United States, as he is required by the Federal Court of the District of Columbia for crimes of criminal association, drug trafficking, and money laundering. 'El Meño' was part of 'El Mayo' Zambada's inner circle and a key intermediary in the reception of cocaine shipments from South America. Additionally, he directed an international trafficking network to coordinate maritime drug shipments from Colombia to Mexico, to later distribute the merchandise in the United States.