Leader of the Sinaloa Cartel - Powerful Mexican drug boss 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). According to Mexican media reports, Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez voluntarily surrendered to the authorities.
The US State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million (13.8 Mio. Euro) 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 that the US Justice Department is holding accountable," Garland said.
Another son of "El Chapo," Ovidio Guzman, was extradited to the USA from Mexico 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 breakouts before being finally apprehended.
The arrest of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzman Loera's son in El Paso was accompanied by that of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, his former partner's co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel. The United States of America has several indictments against Zambada for criminal activities, including drug production and trafficking, murder, and money laundering. Mexican media reports suggest that Zambada and Guzman willingly surrendered to the authorities in Mexico City.
