Fentanyl kingpins caught: El Mayo and El Chapo’s son arrested, US strikes blow against deadly drug

In a significant setback for the Sinaloa drug cartel, Ismael Zambada Garcia, around 70, and Joaquin Guzmán López, in his 30s, were arrested after their private plane landed in El Paso. Mexican drug lord Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada Garcia and the son of his former partner, Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán López, have been arrested in El Paso, Texas. This information was shared by two US officials with Reuters news agency. 

The US Department of Justice announced on Thursday (July 25), that two more suspected kingpins of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world’s most vicious and powerful drug trafficking rings, had been arrested. This is a big win for US law enforcement and could change the criminal scene in Mexico.

Three US law-enforcement agencies said they were probing if Guzmán had tricked ‘El Mayo’ Zambada into boarding the aircraft to the US. They first flew to New Mexico and then, onwards, to El Paso. There, both men were arrested and taken into custody. The authorities flew Guzmán to Chicago, while Zambada stayed in El Paso.

Sources suggest one theory is that Guzmán decided to surrender, believing he would get better treatment if he brought along another major cartel leader. Garcia appeared before a U.S. judge soon after his arrest and pleaded not guilty, according to court records. He was kept in custody and is scheduled to return to court on July 31.

Guzmán López did not appear in court immediately. He is one of the four siblings of father El Chapo, and are jointly called ‘Los Chapitos’. They took over their father’s piece of action in the Sinaloa Cartel. His sibling, Ovidio Guzmán López, was picked up in Mexico in January 2023. He was extradited to the US to face drug and money laundering charges. In September, he pleaded not guilty.

In 2018, a federal grand jury indicted Joaquín Guzmán López and Ovidio Guzmán López. They were charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana in the US. The other two siblings, Iván Guzmán Salazar and Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, still evade arrest. The DEA states the Sinaloa Cartel is a nexus of four criminal rings, one of which is ‘Los Chapitos’, led by El Chapo’s four sons.

In a 2024 report, the DEA stated that the brothers pushed to make fentanyl a bigger part of the cartel’s operations. The US Justice Department had put a price of $15 million for information leading to the arrest of Zambada Garcia. US law enforcement says he became the Sinaloa Cartel’s top leader after El Chapo’s arrest. DEA administrator Anne Milgram said Zambada García’s arrest hits the core of the cartel responsible for most of the drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, which are killing Americans nationwide.

EL CHAPO’S CRIMINAL EMPIRE

Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán is a famous Mexican drug lord who led the Sinaloa Cartel. It smuggles large amounts of drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, into the US. ‘El Chapo’ is known for his daring prison escapes and eventual capture. He is now serving a life sentence plus 30 years in a maximum-security US prison.

ABOUT MOVIES & TV SERIES

There are many films and TV shows about Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán. One well-known series is ‘El Chapo’, made by Univision and Netflix. It tells the story of his rise to power, his daring prison escapes and his capture. His life is also covered in several documentaries and crime shows.

Known as ‘El Mayo’, Zambada Garcia is considered one of the most influential drug traffickers in Mexico’s history. He co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with El Chapo, who was extradited to the US in 2017 and is now serving a life sentence.

Zambada Garcia and the younger Guzmán are facing numerous charges in the US for allegedly smuggling large amounts of drugs, including fentanyl, into the country. Fentanyl is currently the leading cause of death for Americans aged between 18 and 45.

WHAT EXACTLY IS FENTANYL?

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid used medically for severe pain relief, often after surgery. It is much stronger than morphine. However, it is also illegally produced and sold, leading to many overdose deaths because even tiny amounts can be extremely dangerous.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there were an estimated 107,543 drug overdose deaths in the US last year. Most of these deaths, around 74,702, were from such synthetic opioids as fentanyl. The second-highest number of deaths, about 36,251, was from psycho-stimulants, such as methamphetamine.

The DEA reported this year that the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels produced fentanyl in Mexican labs and then smuggled it into the US. Both Sinaloa and Jalisco had issued a whip to their members last year asking them to stop trafficking fentanyl. The ‘Chapitos’ even made a public display of this. However, the DEA believes that this ‘ban’ was just a hoax.

(The author of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com)
 
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own and do not reflect those of DNA