On Thursday, the FBI arrested Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of the infamous drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. The arrests took place in El Paso, Texas. Zambada and Guzman Lopez were taken into custody without any trouble.
The Justice Department said that these arrests involve two top leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, a powerful and dangerous drug organization. Both men are facing several charges in the U.S., including running drug operations and manufacturing fentanyl.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said that Zambada and Guzman Lopez were responsible for trafficking huge amounts of drugs into the U.S. and for related violence. Zambada had been wanted by the U.S. for years, with a reward of up to $15 million offered for information leading to his capture.
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said that Zambada’s arrest is a major blow to the cartel, which is known for causing a lot of drug-related deaths in the U.S. The Sinaloa cartel has been active since the 1980s and is known for its violence. After “El Chapo” was captured in 2016 and is now serving a life sentence in the U.S., Zambada took over the cartel. Guzman Lopez and his brothers have been leading the cartel since their father’s arrest.
Lopez, one of El Chapo’s 12 children, was first charged with drug trafficking in 2018 and has faced several charges since. In April 2023, three of his brothers were also accused of running a large fentanyl trafficking operation into the U.S. The Justice Department has said that the Sinaloa cartel is responsible for many American deaths due to fentanyl.