Mexican drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia and the son of his former partner, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, have been arrested in El Paso, Texas, in a major coup for United States law enforcement that may also reshape the Mexican criminal landscape.
Zambada Garcia, who is believed to be in his 70s, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who is in his 30s, were detained after landing in a private plane in El Paso, two US officials told the Reuters news agency.
“The Justice Department has taken into custody two additional alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organisations in the world,” the US Department of Justice said on Thursday.
Known by this underworld name El Mayo, Zambada Garcia is alleged to be one of the most consequential drug traffickers in Mexico’s history. He co-founded the Sinaloa cartel with El Chapo, who was extradited to the US in 2017 and is serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison.
Zambada Garcia and the younger Guzman face multiple charges in the US for allegedly funneling huge quantities of drugs to the US, including fentanyl, which has surged in use to become the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.
Guzman Lopez is one of four sons of El Chapo – known collectively as Los Chapitos – who inherited their father’s faction of the Sinaloa cartel. His brother, Ovidio Guzman, was arrested last year and extradited to the US.
The US Justice Department had been offering $15m for information leading to the capture of Zambada Garcia, who US law enforcement claims became the Sinaloa cartel’s “unquestioned senior leader” following El Chapo’s arrest.
