The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday that Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the historic leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, and Joaquín Zambada, the son of another notorious cartel leader, Guzmán Lopez was arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas.
For decades, Zambada led the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel alongside Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, and he was known for running the cartel’s smuggling operations in a low-key manner.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest.
“The Department of Justice has detained two additional alleged leaders of the Sinaloa drug cartel, one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. . They were arrested Thursday in El Paso.
Zambada’s detention follows the arrests of other key figures in the Sinaloa cartel, including one of his sons and another of Guzmán’s sons. Guzman Lopez is also the son of “El Chapo” Guzman.
Garland’s statement said both Zambada and Guzman Lopez face multiple charges for “leading the cartel’s criminal activities, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking network.”
“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our nation faces, and the Department of Justice will not rest until every drug cartel leader, member and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable,” Garland said.
In recent years, Guzman’s sons have led a drug cartel faction known as the “Chapitos,” or “Chapitos,” which has been identified as bringing fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid, to the U.S. one of the major exporters. “El Chapo” Guzman was sentenced to life in prison in the United States in 2019.
They are considered more violent and flashy than the Zambada. Their security chief was arrested by Mexican authorities in November.
One of them, Ovidio Guzmán López, was arrested last year and extradited to the United States. In September, he pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges in Chicago.
In February, Zambada was charged in the Eastern District of New York with conspiring to manufacture and distribute fentanyl. Prosecutors say he continues to lead the Sinaloa cartel, “one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world.”
In 2021, Zambada’s son pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court in San Diego to being the leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel.
Ismael Zambada Imperial admitted in his plea agreement to being the primary coordinator of trafficking operations, including the importation and distribution of large quantities of cocaine, heroin and marijuana from Mexico into the United States
Zambada is one of Mexico’s longest-running alter egos, considered a strategist for the Sinaloa cartel and more than his more flamboyant and famous boss, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. involved in day-to-day operations, while the latter is serving a sentence.
Close ties to Colombian cocaine suppliers and their organizations across the United States made Zambada one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world. Since the 1970s, he has been one of the leaders of the Sinaloa drug cartel, whose main livelihood is selling drugs in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Zambada is an old-school capo who, in his days as a young kingpin, was known for his flamboyant club-hopping lifestyle and ruthless tactics of beheading, dismembering and even skinning his opponents. While Zambada has fought those who challenge him, he is known for focusing on the business side of human trafficking and avoiding the horrific cartel violence that draws attention to it.
In an April 2010 interview with Mexican magazine Proceso, he admitted that he lived in constant fear of going to jail and would consider suicide rather than be caught.
“I’m afraid of being imprisoned,” Zambada said. “I thought, yeah, I’m going to kill myself.”
The interview was surprising for a ringleader known for keeping a low profile, but he gave strict instructions on where and when to meet, and the article did not reveal his whereabouts.
Zambada allegedly won the loyalty of locals in his native Sinaloa state and neighboring Durango by generously supporting local farmers and handing out money and beer in his birthplace of El Alamo.
Although little is known about Zambada’s early life, it is believed that he began his career in drug trafficking as a law enforcer in the 1970s.
By the early 1990s, he had become a key member of the Juárez drug cartel and moved large amounts of cocaine and marijuana.
Zambada began to win the trust of Colombian drug traffickers, a loyalty that helped him stand out in the league’s ever-changing cartel world. Eventually, he became so powerful that he broke away from the Juarez cartel, but still managed to maintain strong ties to the gang and avoid turf wars. He also formed a partnership with “El Chapo” Guzman, which put him at the top of the Sinaloa cartel.
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Verza reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report.
