Two of Mexico's most powerful drug traffickers were taken into custody in the United States on Thursday afternoon, sources confirmed to the Los Angeles Times, ending their careers as top leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López were arrested at a private airport in El Paso, according to two sources familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
The Justice Department confirmed the arrests in a brief statement Thursday, with Attorney General Merrick B. Garland saying that “both men face multiple charges in the United States for leading the cartel’s criminal operations, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks.”
Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was arrested at a private airport in El Paso, according to two sources familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
(DEA)
Zambada, 76, faces federal charges in multiple U.S. districts for trafficking tons of cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and other drugs across the border.
He was a longtime associate of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is currently serving a life sentence following a 2019 conviction for his leadership role in the Sinaloa Cartel alongside Zambada.
Joaquín Guzmán is one of El Chapo's sons, part of a leadership group known as “Los Chapitos,” and was elevated within the cartel hierarchy after his father was arrested.
Few details were immediately available about the circumstances of the arrests in El Paso. It is unclear whether the two were detained while traveling or whether they turned themselves in.
Zambada had been sought by US authorities for decades.
The hunt for the drug lord has intensified in recent years as U.S. authorities have struggled to combat trafficking in fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that killed 100,000 Americans last year. In February, prosecutors opened a new case against Zambada for manufacturing and trafficking the drug, which has become the leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.
“He has spent his entire adult life as a major international drug trafficker, and yet he has never spent a day in jail,” the U.S. State Department website states.
In 2021, the U.S. government increased its reward for information leading to Zambada’s arrest or conviction to up to $15 million.
Hamilton reported from San Francisco and Linthicum reported from Mexico City.
