The Mexican drug kingpin Ismael Zambada Garcia, also referred to as “El Mayo,” who co-founded the infamous Sinaloa drug cartel was taken into custody in El Paso on Thursday, in keeping with the Department of Justice.
Also taken into custody was Juaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of the cartel’s different co-founder, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
“The Justice Department has taken into custody two additional alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world,” U.S. Attorney General Merick B. Garland mentioned. “Ismael Zambada Garcia, or ‘El Mayo,’ cofounder of the Cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of its other cofounder, were arrested today in El Paso, Texas.”
Zambada Garcia and now-jailed drug lord “El Chapo” based the Sinaloa Cartel.
This picture offered by the U.S. Department of State exhibits Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a historic chief of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of one other notorious cartel chief, have been arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas, the U.S. Justice Department mentioned Thursday, July 25, 2024. (U.S. Department of State by way of AP)
A federal regulation enforcement supply instructed Fox News Joaquin Guzman Lopez surrendered to U.S. authorities, however El Mayo was captured. Guzman Lopez lower a cope with U.S. authorities, and turned on El Mayo, the supply defined.
Guzman Lopez obtained on a non-public airplane with El Mayo and as an alternative of heading south to Mexico like El Mayo thought, the airplane went north to El Paso the place the 2 have been taken into custody.
“El Mayo,” who the Department of Justice was providing a $15 million reward for data resulting in his arrest and conviction, now faces a litany of indictments for crimes associated to drug trafficking and arranged crime within the United States.
“Today, the FBI and DEA arrested two alleged cartel leaders who have eluded law enforcement for decades,” FBI Director Christopher Wray mentioned, including that El Mayo and Guzman Lopez will now face justice.
“Garcia and Guzman have allegedly overseen the trafficking of tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the U.S. along with related violence. These arrests are an example of the FBI’s and our partners’ commitment to dismantling violent transnational criminal organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel.”
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Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the pinnacle of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, being escorted to a helicopter in Mexico City following his seize within the seaside resort city of Mazatlan. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
In February, U.S. federal prosecutors charged Zambada Garcia with conspiracy to fabricate and distribute fentanyl, which U.S. officers say is the main reason behind dying for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.
The superseding indictment prolonged the dates of earlier indictments from May 2014 to January 2024, and on the time it was filed, Zambada Garcia was at giant.
Guzman was convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn in February 2019 and sentenced to life in jail plus 30 years.
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Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is escorted by soldiers during a presentation in Mexico City, January 8, 2016. (REUTERS/Tomas Bravo/File Photo)
Zambada Garcia continued to evade capture and allegedly continued to run the Sinaloa Cartel from Mexico, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in February.
According to the superseding indictment, Zambada Garcia, from 1999-2024, led a seamless enterprise liable for the importation and distribution of large portions of narcotics, which generated billions of {dollars} in income.
In his efforts to make sure the cartel remained profitable, Zambada Garcia allegedly employed people to acquire transportation routes and warehouses to import and retailer narcotics and “sicarios,” or hit males, to hold out kidnappings and murders in Mexico to retaliate towards rivals who threatened the Sinaloa Cartel.
The thousands and thousands of {dollars} generated from the operation have been then transported again to Mexico.
“El Mayo and Guzman Lopez join a growing list of Sinaloa Cartel leaders and associates who the Justice Department is holding accountable in the United States. That includes the Cartel’s other cofounder, Joaquin Guzman Loera, or ‘El Chapo’; another of El Chapo’s sons and an alleged Cartel leader, Ovidio Guzman Lopez; and the Cartel’s alleged lead sicario, Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, or ‘El Nini.'” Garland mentioned. “Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable.”
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In mild of Guzman’s trial conviction, his identify has been faraway from the superseding indictment towards Zambada Garcia.
Reuters contributed to this report.
