Two leaders of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel were captured Thursday in Texas, in the southern United States, the US Department of Justice announced, in a major blow to “one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking networks in the world.”
After a daring sting operation, the two leaders of the cartel with many international ramifications were arrested as their private plane landed in Texas, on the American side of the border with Mexico, according to American media citing police sources.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of notorious drug lord “El Chapo,” convinced Ismael Zambada Garcia, also known as “El Mayo,” a co-founder of the cartel, to board a plane supposedly bound for southern Mexico, but the plane actually headed north and landed in El Paso, United States, according to Fox News.
“El Chapo’s” son lured “El Mayo” onto the plane “under false pretenses,” according to senior U.S. officials cited by the New York Times.
Guzman surrendered and “El Mayo” was arrested, a Fox News reporter added on the X network.
“Ismael Zambada Garcia, also known as “El Mayo,” a co-founder of the cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of the other co-founder, were taken into custody today in El Paso, Texas,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
They are both facing prosecution in the United States for their alleged role in the manufacture and trafficking of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid and “the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced,” the attorney general said.
“The Heart of the Cartel”
The arrest of “El Mayo” strikes “at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, that are killing Americans from coast to coast,” said Anne Milgram, the head of the DEA, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.
And that of the son of “El Chapo” deals “a new very hard blow to the Sinaloa cartel,” added Mrs. Milgram.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez is one of the sons of the drug lord who co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel and is currently serving a life sentence in the United States after his conviction in 2019.
Another of his sons, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, was extradited to the United States in 2023.
After “El Chapo” was arrested, several of his sons, collectively known as “Chapitos” (or “Little Chapos”), inherited control of the organization, according to U.S. authorities.
” Low profile “
Aged 76, “El Mayo” is described as “one of the most famous drug traffickers in Mexican history” by the specialized analysis center InSight Crime. “He is best known for keeping a low profile,” for “prioritizing business over violence” and for being “one of the few leaders of the old guard who managed to evade justice throughout his criminal career.”
The Sinaloa cartel is accused by the United States of being largely responsible for the massive distribution of fentanyl on American soil and the violence linked to trafficking on both sides of the border.
“The Justice Department will not rest until all of the cartel leaders, members, and associates responsible for poisoning our society are held accountable,” the Attorney General said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States recorded more than 107,000 overdose deaths in 2023. Fentanyl was the cause of about 70% of them.
Senior members of the cartel, which originated in the state of Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico, are regularly extradited to the United States by Mexico, a neighboring country with which Washington is constantly seeking to strengthen cooperation in the fight against drug traffickers.
Drug-related violence is wreaking havoc in Mexico, with more than 450,000 people murdered since the government launched a military offensive against drug cartels in 2006. Victims include members of the security forces and journalists.
The criminal network “established ties to the highest levels of the federal police and the Mexican military, and bribed members of both institutions to maintain an advantage over rival organizations,” according to Insight Crime.
The Sinaloa cartel is also among the long list of points of contention between Washington and Beijing. In June, the U.S. Justice Department accused “shadow Chinese bankers” of helping the network launder more than $50 million in drug proceeds.