El Mayo and son of El Chapo arrested in the USA
US Investigators score a major blow against the notorious Mexican Sinaloa Cartel: Two of its leaders, including a son of the jailed cartel founder and "El Chapo," are arrested in Texas. According to Mexican media, they have turned themselves in.
Two leaders of the powerful Mexican Sinaloa Cartel have been arrested in the US. Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia, a co-founder of the Cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of another co-founder, were taken into custody in El Paso, Texas, announced US Justice Minister Merrick Garland. According to Mexican media, the two have voluntarily surrendered to the authorities.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez is the son of the Mexican drug lord "El Chapo," who co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel and is currently serving a life sentence in the US. Garland described the Cartel as one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world. The US State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million, or €13.8 million, for information leading to Zambada's arrest. Charges against the 76-year-old include conspiracy to manufacture cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl, as well as murder and money laundering.
Tens of Thousands of Fentanyl Deaths per Year
"El Mayo and Guzman Lopez join a growing list of leaders and associates of the Sinaloa Cartel that the US Justice Department is holding accountable," said Garland. Another son of "El Chapo," Ovidio Guzman, was extradited from Mexico to the US in September. The leader of the Sinaloa Cartel himself was sentenced to life imprisonment in the US in 2019. Joaquin Guzman had previously escaped from prison in Mexico twice before being finally apprehended.
The US accuses the Sinaloa Cartel of being primarily responsible for the widespread distribution of fentanyl and the violence associated with the trade on both sides of the border. According to the US Health Department, the CDC, there were over 107,000 overdose deaths in the past year. About 70% of these were attributed to fentanyl. Fentanyl is a powerful painkiller used primarily for cancer patients, but it is also illegally traded. The synthetic opioid is 50 times stronger than heroin. It is often produced in China with chemicals and smuggled into the US from Mexico.
The drug war in Mexico has resulted in international implications, as evidenced by the arrest of two high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Texas, United States of America. TheCartel, known for its violence and drug trafficking activities, has been fiercely targeted by US authorities. According to reports, the arrests in Texas involve Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia, a co-founder of the Cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of another co-founder and sibling to another prominent member, who was previously extradited from Mexico.
