The son of “El Chapo,” was detained in Texas, and El Mayo, a co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel
“El Mayo” and “El Chapo”US detains the son of Mexican drug cartel bosses
Following the unexpected capture of two suspected drug lords from Mexico in Texas, three law enforcement officials indicate that investigators think one of the men may have deceived the other into boarding an aircraft for the United States.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday’s arrests in El Paso of the co-founder of the cartel and the son of jailed Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, who helped manage the group for three decades.
Both Joaquín Guzmán López and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, the co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, have been indicted in the United States and are facing “multiple charges” related to the criminal organization based in Mexico, which includes “its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks,” according to a statement released by Garland.
Authorities are investigating whether Guzmán López deceived “El Mayo” Zambada into boarding the jet that was headed for the United States, according to the three law enforcement sources. The two men were detained and arrested in El Paso after the jet initially traveled to New Mexico.
Authorities flew Guzmán to Chicago, while Zambada stayed in El Paso and is scheduled to appear in federal court on Friday.
According to the sources, one possibility is that Guzmán had made the decision to turn himself in and believed he would be treated better if he brought along a significant other cartel member.
According to Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI and HSI worked together to target the cartel, which resulted in the arrests.
The notorious criminal known as “El Chapo” was apprehended in Mexico, extradited to the United States, and is presently serving a life sentence plus 30 years that was imposed in New York in 2019.
The son of another notorious cartel leader, Joaquín Guzmán López, was taken into custody by American authorities in Texas on July 25, 2024, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Juan Carlos Guzmán López.via AP and the US Department of State
The Drug Enforcement Administration stated in its 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment that the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels “are at the heart” of the synthetic drug epidemic in the United States, which includes fentanyl and methamphetamine.
In January 2023, Ovidio Guzmán López, another son of “El Chapo,” was arrested in Mexico on suspicion of being a cartel boss. He has since been extradited to the United States to face accusations related to drug trafficking and money laundering. In September, he entered a not guilty plea.
Texas police detain the head of the Sinaloa drug gang in Mexico
Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the head of Mexico‘s Sinaloa cartel and one of the most potent drug lords globally, has been taken into custody by US federal investigators in El Paso, Texas.
Zambada, 76, and Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is incarcerated in the US, co-founded the criminal organization.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of Guzman, was arrested on Thursday along with Zambada, according to the US Justice Department.
US authorities accused Zambada in February of plotting to produce and sell fentanyl, a substance more potent than heroin that is to blame for the opioid crisis in the US.
The Wall Street Journal claims to have obtained information from Mexican and US officials that after a months-long investigation by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, Zambada was duped into boarding the aircraft by a senior Sinaloa member.
Zambada was transported to a private airstrip west of El Paso, Texas, despite his initial belief that he was going to assess covert airstrips in southern Mexico.
After the plane landed, federal officials also detained Lopez and Zambada.
According to officials, Zambada was “lured” onboard a private jet by Lopez under “false pretences,” according to the New York Times.
The US administration had informed Mexico’s Security Minister Rosa Rodriguez that Zambada and Lopez were being held in custody, but the Mexican government was not a part of the effort to capture them.
According to Fox News Correspondent Bryan Llenas, Lopez turned on Zambada and turned himself in to US officials because he “blamed Mayo for the capture of his father.”
The two individuals are in charge of “one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world,” according to a written statement made by US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday night.
According to US prosecutors, the Sinaloa cartel is the country’s largest supplier of drugs.
Fentanyl has been identified by US officials as the primary cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.
For Zambada’s apprehension, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has been offered a reward of up to $15 million (£12 million).
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman‘s attorneys claimed during the trial in 2019 that Zambada had bought off the “entire” Mexican government so he could live freely without worrying about going to jail.
Jurors were informed by Guzman’s attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, that “in truth, [Guzman] controlled nothing.” “Mayo Zambada did,” he asserted.
Zambada also owns real estate and a number of legal enterprises in Mexico, including “a large milk company, a bus line, and a hotel,” according to the US State Department.
In addition to being charged with fentanyl, he is also being investigated in the US for drug trafficking, homicide, kidnapping, money laundering, and organized crime.
Eliseo Imperial Castro (also known as “Cheyo Antrax”), Zambada’s nephew, was killed in a Mexican ambush in May. US authorities also sought him.
Undoubtedly, Zambada is the most powerful drug lord in the Americas and one of the greatest in the world.
He had been avoiding the law for many years, so Mexico is shocked by his capture.
