Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the cofounder of Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa Cartel, was arrested in New Mexico on Thursday during a major law enforcement operation, federal authorities report. The takedown of the 70-year-old drug kingpin also led to the arrest of Joaquín Guzmán López, son of incarcerated drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Zambada’s former partner.
The two wanted drug runners were arrested after landing at the Santa Teresa International Jetport in New Mexico, just across the state line from El Paso, Texas. According to sources who spoke with the New York Times, Zambada and Guzman Lopez surrendered themselves at the airport.
Zambada has been on the run from US law enforcement for decades after founding the Sinaloa Cartel with “El Chapo” in the 1980s. Following his father’s arrest and extradition to the US in 2017, Guzman Lopez is believed to have been elevated to a leadership role in the cartel.
Both men now face multiple charges in connection with the cartel’s multi-billion-dollar drug smuggling operation. The Sinaloa Cartel is the primary group responsible for trafficking fentanyl across the US border.
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“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,” a statement from Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “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.’”
“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,” he continued.
President Joe Biden commended law enforcement for the arrests “and their work to bring Sinaloa Cartel leaders to justice.”
Yesterday, @TheJusticeDept arrested Ismael Zambada Garcia and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, two alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel known for moving fentanyl into the U.S.
I commend law enforcement for making these arrests and their work to bring Sinaloa Cartel leaders to justice.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 26, 2024
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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