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Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the historic leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, and Joaquin Guzman López, the son of another notorious cartel leader, were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas, the Justice Department reported Thursday.
Zambada, who for decades led the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel alongside Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was known for running the cartel’s smuggling operations while keeping a low profile.
The DEA is offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his capture.
“The Department of Justice has arrested two additional alleged leaders of the Sinaloa 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 arrest follows a spate of arrests of other members of the Sinaloa cartel, including one of his sons and another of Guzman’s sons, including López “El Chapo” Guzman.
Garland’s statement said both Zambada and Guzman López 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 has ever faced, and the Department of Justice will not rest until all drug cartel leaders, members, and associates responsible for poisoning our communities are held accountable,” Garland said.
In recent years, Guzman’s sons have led a faction of the cartel called the Chapitos, which is considered the main exporter of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl to the U.S. market. “Shorty” Guzman was sentenced to life in prison in the United States in 2019.
They are considered more violent and flamboyant than Zambada. His 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.
Zambada was indicted in the Eastern District of New York in February for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl. Prosecutors said he continued 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 a plea agreement that he was the primary coordinator of a trafficking operation that included the importation and distribution of tons of cocaine, heroin and marijuana from Mexico into the United States.
Zambada, one of Mexico’s longest-surviving drug lords, is considered a strategist for the Sinaloa cartel and has been more involved in day-to-day operations than its most high-profile and well-known leader, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life in the United States.
Close ties to Colombian cocaine suppliers and their organizations throughout the United States made Zambada one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, he has been one of the leaders of the Sinaloa drug cartel since the 1970s, and his main source of income is selling drugs in the United States.
Zambada is an old-school caper who, in his day, was known for his lavish party lifestyle and brutal tactics of beheading, dismembering and even skinning his opponents. Although Zambada has fought those who challenged him, he is known for focusing on the business side of trafficking and avoiding the violent cartel violence that draws attention.
In an April 2010 interview with the Mexican magazine Proceso, he admitted that he lived in constant fear of going to prison and would consider suicide rather than be caught.
“I was afraid of being incarcerated,” Zambada said. “I thought, yes, I’m going to kill myself.”
The interview was surprising for a notoriously discreet ringleader, but he gave strict instructions on where and when to meet, and the article did not reveal his whereabouts.
Zambada is said to have won the loyalty of locals in his native Sinaloa and neighboring Durango by generously supporting local farmers and distributing money and beer in his birthplace, the Alamo.
Although little is known about Zambada’s early life, he is believed to have begun his career as a drug dealer in the 1970s.
By the early 1990s, he had become a major player in the Juarez drug cartel, transporting large quantities of cocaine and marijuana.
Zambada began to gain the trust of Colombian drug dealers, and these alliances helped him rise to the top in the ever-changing world of alliances. Eventually, he became so powerful that he split with the Juarez Cartel, but still managed to maintain strong ties with the gang and avoid turf wars. He also formed a partnership with “El Chapo” Guzman, which brought him to 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.
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