Ruh roh.

(CBS News) – A Mexican drug suspect awaiting trial in Chicago is making a startling claim. He insists he can’t be prosecuted because he worked as an informant and had a secret immunity deal with the U.S. government.

Prosecutors say Vicente Zambada-Niebla oversaw drug running on a massive scale into the U.S. But now, from behind bars at a maximum security prison in Chicago, he’s making his own explosive accusations — that U.S. government agents have been aiding Mexico’s infamous Sinaloa cartel — even tipping off leaders on how to avoid capture.

CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports that Zambada’s court filings claim federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents gave him, cartel kingpin Chapo Guzman, and other Sinaloa leaders “carte blanche” to “operate their drug business without interference,” as long as they snitched on other cartels. For years, Zambada’s attorney argues, Sinaloa leaders helped “authorities capture or kill thousands of rivals.” Their chief rivals are the Zetas, considered the most vicious and ruthless of all.

Phil Jordan used to head the DEA’s Center for Drug Trafficking Intelligence, called “EPIC,” in El Paso. He says he doesn’t buy Zambada’s claim that the DEA promised immunity…

But in court documents, prosecutors do admit the U.S. had a signed cooperation agreement with a different Sinaloa cartel leader.

That agreement was with Sinaloa cartel lawyer Humberto Loya-Castro. Starting as early as 2004, Loya passed information to the DEA from cartel leaders including Zambada — the one now on trial. In return, Zambada claims, the U.S. dismissed a major case against Loya and agreed to “not … interfere with” the cartel’s “drug trafficking” or actively prosecute their leadership.

That Phil Jordan guy? Upon hearing of that agreement he says it’s controversial but possibly necessary. So…yeah.

The claimed immunity is likely unenforceable because it’s no up to individual federal agents to decide if someone is immune from prosecution.

But the mere fact authorities would cooperate with and protect violent drug cartel members — it kind of ties into the Fast and Furious scandal, no? In an attempt to justify stricter gun control, Eric Holder and company smuggled guns to Mexican drug cartels which in turn used those weapons to kill both civilians and Border Patrol agents. The scandal blew up in their face when an agent became a whistleblower and went to Congress.

Now we’re finding out prosecutors granted immunity to some Sinaloa members and federal agents may have promised immunity to others, at one point even tipping off members on how to avoid capture. One wonders if the same people running Fast and Furious perhaps needed some help from the Sinaloa cartel to conduct the operation. It just gets worse by the day, doesn’t it?