Two leaders of the deadly Sinaloa Cartel, which pumps drugs into the United States and has left a bloody trail of violence and death in Mexico, were arrested Thursday.
“The Justice Department has taken into custody two additional alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world. 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,” the Justice Department said in a news release.
The release said both men face multiple charges related to the distribution of fentanyl in America.
Guzman is a son of cartel co-founder and former leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, 69, who is currently in an American prison serving a life sentence, according to CNN.
Citing sources it did not name, CNN reported that Zambada and Guzman were fooled into boarding a plane that took them across the border to the U.S.
NEW: Sinaloa Cartel leader “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who is El Chapo’s son, were taken into custody at the Santa Teresa (NM) airport around 4pm this afternoon. They are facing charges relating to their alleged fentanyl trafficking operation. @KTSMtv pic.twitter.com/vPTADLsxdc
— andra litton (@tornandra) July 26, 2024
The two men were told the flight was being made to inspect a property in Mexico, but landed in El Paso instead.
In speculating on where the drug kingpins were being held, CNN said that a Justice Department aircraft often used for extraditions flew from El Paso to the Chicago area early Friday.
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ABC reported that the operation to bring the drug lords across the border had been planned for months, citing a Homeland Security Investigations sources it did not name.
In its reporting, The New York Times suggested Guzman was aware of the ruse, saying Zambada was “lured onto a private plane under false pretenses” by Guzman.
Zambada, the report said, “was unaware he was headed to the United States” when he got on the plane.
A second source tells me the Guzman Lopez told El Mayo they were going to see Mexican properties along the border. Plane landed instead in El Paso, USA. Guzman turned on El Mayo. Apparently their relationship fractured because Guzman blamed Mayo for the capture of his father – El…
— Bryan Llenas (@BryanLlenas) July 26, 2024
The Times report said Zambada has been in talks with American officials for three years about surrendering.
Guzman is expected to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Chicago; it was not known where Zambada would be tried, the Times reported.
US arrests 2 leaders of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel: ‘El Mayo’ Zambada and son of ‘El Chapo’ https://t.co/vqX0rfpf2p
— Toronto Star (@TorontoStar) July 26, 2024
“Today, the FBI and DEA arrested two alleged cartel leaders who have eluded law enforcement for decades. Ismael Mario ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of El Chapo, will now face justice in the United States,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement, according to ABC.
“Garcia and Guzman have allegedly overseen the trafficking of tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the U.S. along with related violence. These arrests are an example of the FBI’s and our partners’ commitment to dismantling violent transnational criminal organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel,” Wray said.
