Sinaloa Cartel Co-Founder 'El Mayo' Zambada, El Chapo's Son Arrested In US Drug Crackdown

Two top leaders of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, including its co-founder Ismael Zambada Garcia, were arrested on Thursday in Texas, the US Department of Justice said.

“Ismael Zambada Garcia, or ‘El Mayo,’ cofounder of the Cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of its other cofounder, were arrested today in El Paso, Texas,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement, calling the cartel “one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world.”

The pair face “multiple charges in the United States for leading the Cartel’s criminal operations, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks,” Garland said. The arrests are another major blow to the Sinaloa cartel, whose founder Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in the United States.

El Chapo

El Chapo was convicted in 2019 of running what was believed to be the world’s biggest narcotics syndicate. The cartel, which was born in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, is one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal groups. After El Chapo’s capture, several of his sons, collectively known as the “Chapitos” or “The Little Chapos,” inherited control of the organization, according to the US authorities.

One son, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, was extradited to the United States last year to face narcotics charges. Zambada, who co-founded the cartel, is described by the InSight Crime think tank as “one of the most storied drug traffickers in Mexican history.” It said the cartel “has forged connections at the highest levels of Mexico’s federal police and military, and has bribed members of both institutions to maintain an advantage over rival organizations.”

The 76-year-old Zambada is believed to have never served time in prison, and US authorities have been after him for decades. “He is known primarily for maintaining a low profile and a focus on business over violence. In addition, he is one of the few old-guard bosses who has managed to evade justice throughout his criminal career,” InSight Crime said before his detention.

$15 million reward

The United States had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest. Victims of the cartels’ ultra-violent turf wars include rival gang members, security personnel and journalists, who are among more than 450,000 people murdered since the government launched a military offensive against drug cartels in 2006.

The United States saw more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fentanyl accounted for about 70 percent of them. The US government says fentanyl is often made from products sourced in China, and then is smuggled across the border from Mexico by drug traffickers, especially the Sinaloa cartel.

“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced,” Garland added in his statement. “The Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable.”

(With agency inputs)