Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and the son of his former partner, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, were arrested on Thursday in El Paso, Texas, marking a significant victory for U.S. authorities that could also alter the Mexican criminal landscape.
Zambada, a key figure in Mexico’s drug trafficking history, co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with El Chapo, who was extradited to the U.S. in 2017 and is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison.
Both Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, El Chapo’s son, face numerous charges in the U.S. for smuggling large quantities of drugs, including fentanyl, which has become the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45. U.S. officials reported that Zambada, believed to be in his 70s, and Guzman Lopez, in his 30s, were detained after arriving in a private plane in the El Paso area.
Guzman Lopez is one of four sons of El Chapo, known as Los Chapitos, who inherited their father’s faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. His brother, Ovidio Guzman, was arrested last year and extradited to the United States. In recent years, the Sinaloa Cartel has emerged as the primary target for U.S. authorities, who have accused the syndicate of being the largest supplier of fentanyl in the U.S.
Zambada and Guzman Lopez face multiple charges in the U.S. for leading the cartel’s criminal operations, including its lethal fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks, according to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Reuters first reported Guzman Lopez’s arrest ahead of the Justice Department’s confirmation of their detention in El Paso.
A worker at the Santa Teresa airport, located near El Paso, told Reuters he saw a Beechcraft King Air land on the runway, where federal agents were waiting. “Two individuals got off the plane… and were calmly taken into custody,” said the worker, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons. “It seemed like a pretty calm, arranged thing,” he added.
U.S. authorities had placed a $15 million bounty on Zambada’s capture, while Guzman Lopez faced a $5 million reward for his arrest. The Sinaloa Cartel is responsible for trafficking drugs to over 50 countries worldwide and is considered one of the two most powerful organized crime groups in Mexico, according to U.S. officials.
Zambada and El Chapo’s sons represent different generations of traffickers, each with distinct styles. Zambada is known as an “old-school” narco who prefers to stay out of the spotlight and operate discreetly, while El Chapo’s sons are characterized as flashy narcos who actively sought attention as they rose within the cartel.
They are also recognized for being more violent and impulsive compared to Zambada, who has built a reputation as a cunning operator.
Since their father’s extradition in 2017, Zambada and El Chapo’s sons have had a tumultuous relationship. The recent arrests of Zambada and Guzman Lopez could lead to instability or violence in their stronghold in the northern state of Sinaloa.
Previous arrests of key cartel leaders have often resulted in violence due to power vacuums, leading to intense infighting within the organizations and conflicts with rival groups.
“This possibility certainly looms very large,” noted Vanda Felbab-Brown, a researcher at Washington’s Brookings Institution who closely monitors security issues in Mexico. Their arrests were part of a coordinated effort by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), according to a statement from HSI.
Over the past year, U.S. authorities have launched new indictments against Zambada and El Chapo’s sons on charges related to fentanyl smuggling and the flow of precursor chemicals to the illegal labs operated by their criminal organization. For decades, the cartel has developed complex supply chains to transport drugs globally and acquire heavily regulated chemicals for their operations in Sinaloa.
Earlier on Thursday, Reuters published an investigation revealing that fentanyl precursor chemicals are remarkably easy and inexpensive to purchase online from Chinese sellers who deliver the substances directly to homes in North America.
“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,” Garland added.
