Sinaloa Cartel - Powerful drug boss 'El Mayo' arrested in the USA
One of the most powerful Mexican drug lords has been arrested in the US border city of El Paso. Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, was taken into custody along with a son of his former partner, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, as US Justice Minister Merrick Garland announced on Thursday (local time). Mexican media reports suggest that Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez voluntarily surrendered to the authorities.
Sinaloa Cartel: Drug Lords Falling One by One
The US State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million (€13.8 million) for information leading to the arrest of the 76-year-old Zambada. Several indictments against Zambada exist in the USA, including for conspiracy to produce Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine and Fentanyl, for murder, and for money laundering.
"El Mayo" and Guzman Lopez join a growing list of leaders and associates of the Sinaloa Cartel being held accountable by the US Justice Department," Garland said.
Sons of "El Chapo" Control Drug Empire
After El Chapo's extradition to the USA in 2017, his criminal empire was taken over by four of his sons – known as Los Chapitos or Little Chapos, who inherited his share of the Cartel and became some of the largest exporters of Fentanyl into the USA.
Another son of "El Chapo", Ovidio Guzman, was extradited from Mexico to the USA in September. The leader of the Sinaloa Cartel himself was sentenced to life imprisonment in the USA in 2019. Joaquin Guzman had previously escaped from prison in Mexico in two spectacular escapes before being finally captured.
The arrest of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Lopez's son in El Paso adds another name to the list of Sinaloa Cartel leaders being held accountable by the United States Justice Department, led by Merrick Garland. The US State Department had offered a substantial reward for information leading to Zambada's arrest due to several indictments against him in the United States, including charges related to drug production, murder, and money laundering. The Sinaloa Cartel, once led by Joaquin Guzman, has seen its leadership dismantled with several of its prominent figures facing justice, such as his sons who took over the empire after his extradition in 2017 and became prominent Fentanyl exporters to the USA.
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