US takes key Sinaloa Cartel figures El Mayo, El Chapo’s son into custody

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US Justice Department on Thursday announced the arrests of Ismael Zambada Garcia (El Mayo) and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, both leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel.

"The Justice Department has taken into custody two additional alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world. Ismael Zambada Garcia, or “El Mayo,” cofounder of the Cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of its other cofounder, were arrested today in El Paso, Texas," said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement.

The two men face multiple charges in the US for leading the cartel’s criminal operations, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks, according to the statement.

Garland said El Mayo and Guzman Lopez join a growing list of Sinaloa Cartel leaders and associates that the Justice Department is holding accountable in the US.

"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'," said the statement.

"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," it added.

In 2016, the State Department announced a $5 million reward for information leading to El Mayo's capture, which was later increased to $15 million in September 2023.

El Mayo co-founded the cartel, based in Tijuana, with "El Chapo," who was apprehended in 2016 and is now serving a life sentence in a US maximum-security prison for charges including drug trafficking and money laundering. After "El Chapo's" arrest, he assumed leadership of the cartel.