Elusive Sinaloa cartel kingpin and 鈥楨l Chapo鈥檚鈥� son captured by Texas authorities
| Washington
Ismael 鈥淓l Mayo鈥� Zambada, a longtime leader of Mexico鈥檚 Sinaloa cartel, and Joaqu铆n Guzm谩n L贸pez, a son of another infamous cartel leader, were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas on July 25, the U.S. Justice Department said.
A leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel for decades alongside Joaqu铆n 鈥淓l Chapo鈥� Guzm谩n, Mr. Zambada is one of the most notorious drug traffickers in the world and known for running the cartel鈥檚 smuggling operations while keeping a lower profile.
A Mexican federal official told The Associated Press that Mr. Zambada and Mr. Guzm谩n L贸pez arrived in the United States on a private plane and turned themselves in to authorities. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter.
The U.S. government had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the capture of Mr. Zambada, who eluded authorities for decades.
Mr. Zambada and Mr. Guzm谩n L贸pez oversaw the trafficking of 鈥渢ens of thousands of pounds of drugs into the United States, along with related violence,鈥� FBI Director Christopher Wray said, adding that now they will 鈥渇ace justice in the United States.鈥�
鈥淔entanyl 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,鈥� Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Mexican authorities didn鈥檛 immediately comment on the arrests.
U.S. officials have been seeking Mr. Zambada鈥檚 capture for years, and he has been charged in a number of U.S. cases. He was charged in February in the Eastern District of New York with conspiring to manufacture and distribute the synthetic opioid. Prosecutors said he was continuing to lead the Sinaloa cartel, 鈥渙ne of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world.鈥�
Mr. Zambada, one of the longest-surviving capos in Mexico, was considered the cartel鈥檚 strategist, more involved in day-to-day operations than his flashier and better-known boss, 鈥淓l Chapo鈥� Guzm谩n, who was sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. in 2019 and is the father of Mr. Guzm谩n L贸pez.
Mr. Zambada is an old-fashioned capo in an era of younger kingpins known for their flamboyant lifestyles of club-hopping and brutal tactics of beheading, dismembering, and even skinning their rivals. While Mr. Zambada has fought those who challenged him, he is known for concentrating on the business side of trafficking and avoiding gruesome cartel violence that would draw attention.
In an April 2010 interview with the Mexican magazine Proceso, he acknowledged that he lived in constant fear of going to prison and would contemplate suicide rather than be captured.
鈥淚鈥檓 terrified of being incarcerated,鈥� Mr. Zambada said. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to think that, yes, I would kill myself.鈥�
The interview was surprising for a kingpin known for keeping his head down, but he gave strict instructions on where and when the encounter would take place, and the article gave no hint of his whereabouts.
Mr. Zambada reputedly won the loyalty of locals in his home state of Sinaloa and neighboring Durango through his largess, sponsoring local farmers and distributing money and beer in his birthplace of El Alamo.
Although little is known about Mr. Zambada鈥檚 early life, he is believed to have gotten his start as an enforcer in the 1970s.
By the early 1990s, he was a major player in the Juarez cartel, transporting tons of cocaine and marijuana.
Mr. Zambada started gaining the trust of Colombian traffickers, allegiances that helped him come out on top in the cartel world of ever-shifting alliances. Eventually he became so powerful that he broke off from the Juarez cartel, but still managed to keep strong ties with the gang and avoided a turf war. He also developed a partnership with 鈥淓l Chapo鈥� Guzman that would take him to the top of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Mr. Zambada鈥檚 detention follows some important arrests of other Sinaloa cartel figures, including one of his sons and another son of 鈥淓l Chapo鈥� Guzm谩n, Ovidio Guzm谩n L贸pez. Mr. Zambada鈥檚 son pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court in San Diego in 2021 to being a leader in the Sinaloa cartel.
In recent years, Mr. Guzman鈥檚 sons have led a faction of the cartel known as the little Chapos, or 鈥淐hapitos鈥� that has been identified as a main exporter of fentanyl to the U.S. market.
They were seen as more violent and flamboyant than Mr. Zambada. Their security chief was arrested by Mexican authorities in November.
Ovidio Guzm谩n L贸pez was arrested and extradited to the U.S. last year. He pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges in Chicago in September.
Mike Vigil, former head of international operations for the DEA, said Mr. Zambada鈥檚 arrest is important but unlikely to have much impact on the flow of drugs to the U.S. Joaqu铆n Guzm谩n L贸pez was the least influential of the four sons who made up the Chapitos, Mr. Vigil said.
鈥淭his is a great blow for the rule of law, but is it going to have an impact on the cartel? I don鈥檛 think so,鈥� Mr. Vigil said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to have a dent on the drug trade because somebody from within the cartel is going to replace him,鈥� Mr. Vigil said.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.
