In a major burst, Mexican drug kingpin Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada and Joaqun Guzman Lopez, were arrested by the US authorities in Texas. The US Justice Department confirmed on Friday the arrest of the two belonging to one of the world’s biggest and most powerful criminal groups-- the Sinaloa cartel.
Zambada, 76, the alleged co-founder and leader of the cartel and Guzman, 38, son of the cartel's infamous co-founder Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman was arrested in El Paso, said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement.
The US government had offered a reward of up to $15 million for any information leading to the capture of Zambada. He had eluded law enforcement for decades.
According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Zambada and Guzman Lopez oversaw the trafficking of tens of thousands of pounds of drugs into the United States, along with related violence. “Now they will face justice in the United States,” he added.
Along with several charges, both are accused of allegedly leading the cartel’s criminal operations, including its manufacturing and trafficking of deadly fentanyl.
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, said Garland.
Reportedly, Zambada and Guzman boarded a plane purportedly en route to inspect a property in Mexico when they were arrested by the FBI agents.
“Ismael Mario Zambada Garcia is the long-time leader of the Zambada Garcia faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. Zambada Garcia is unique in that he has spent his entire adult life as a major international drug trafficker, yet he has never spent a day in jail,” according to the US State Department.
The pair allegedly oversaw the trafficking of “tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the US along with related violence,” Wray added.
Sinaloa Cartel
The Sinaloa Cartel was formed by the gang in Mexico in the late 1980s. It is known as one of the most powerful criminal groups in the world.
Notorious cartel boss Guzman, known as “El Chapo,” was arrested in Guatemala in 1993 on homicide and drug charges and deported to Mexico. But, reportedly, he escaped a Mexican prison in 2001 by bribing prison guards to smuggle him out in a laundry truck. In 2014 he was arrested but escaped again, this time through a tunnel.
Guzman was arrested for a third time in 2016 and then extradited to the US
In a major trial, he was convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn in 2018 and sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.
Guzman was found guilty on 10 federal criminal counts, which included engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to launder narcotics proceeds, international distribution of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, and use of firearms.