Ismael Zambada Garcia, known as “El Mayo,” a key figure in the infamous Sinaloa drug cartel, was apprehended in El Paso on Thursday, as reported by the Department of Justice.
Alongside him, Juaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of the cartel’s co-founder Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was also taken into custody.
“The Justice Department has detained two more suspected leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most powerful and violent drug trafficking organizations globally,” stated U.S. Attorney General Merick B. Garland. “Ismael Zambada Garcia, aka ‘El Mayo,’ a co-founder of the Cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of another co-founder, were arrested today in El Paso, Texas.”
Zambada Garcia, along with the incarcerated drug lord “El Chapo,” was instrumental in establishing the Sinaloa Cartel.
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This image, provided by the U.S. Department of State, depicts Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a historical leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López, another notorious cartel figure’s son, were captured by U.S. authorities in Texas, according to the U.S. Justice Department on Thursday, July 25, 2024. (U.S. Department of State via AP)
A federal law enforcement source informed Fox News that Joaquin Guzman Lopez voluntarily surrendered to U.S. authorities, whereas El Mayo was captured. The source elaborated that Guzman Lopez made a deal with U.S. officials, leading to El Mayo’s arrest.
In an unexpected turn, Guzman Lopez boarded a private plane with El Mayo that he believed was heading south to Mexico, but instead, it flew north to El Paso where they were subsequently apprehended.
The Department of Justice had previously offered a $15 million reward for information leading to El Mayo’s arrest and conviction, which he now faces on multiple indictments for drug trafficking and organized crime in the United States.
“Today, the FBI and DEA apprehended two suspected cartel leaders who have managed to evade law enforcement for years,” noted FBI Director Christopher Wray, adding that both El Mayo and Guzman Lopez would confront justice.
“Garcia and Guzman are accused of overseeing the transport of tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the U.S., alongside associated violence. These arrests clearly demonstrate the commitment of the FBI and our partners to dismantling perilous transnational criminal networks like the Sinaloa Cartel.”
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Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is seen being escorted to a helicopter in Mexico City following his capture at a beach resort in Mazatlan. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
In February, U.S. federal prosecutors charged Zambada Garcia with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, which officials claim is the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 45.
The updated indictment extended the previous allegations from May 2014 to January 2024, at the time Zambada Garcia was still at large.
Guzman was found guilty by a federal jury in Brooklyn in February 2019 and sentenced to a life term plus 30 years.
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Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is escorted by soldiers during a presentation in Mexico City on January 8, 2016. (REUTERS/Tomas Bravo/File Photo)
Zambada Garcia managed to avoid capture and allegedly continued to oversee the Sinaloa Cartel from Mexico, as stated in a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in February.
The updated indictment claims that from 1999-2024, Zambada Garcia led a persistent operation that imported and distributed enormous amounts of narcotics, yielding billions in profits.
To maintain the cartel’s success, it is alleged that Zambada Garcia hired individuals to secure transportation routes and warehouses for importing and storing drugs, as well as “sicarios,” or hitmen, to execute kidnappings and murders in Mexico to retaliate against rivals threatening the Sinaloa Cartel.
The substantial profits made from the operation were transported back to Mexico.
“El Mayo and Guzman Lopez are now part of an expanding list of Sinaloa Cartel leaders and affiliates the Justice Department holds accountable in the U.S. This includes the cartel’s co-founder, Joaquin Guzman Loera, known as ‘El Chapo’; another of El Chapo’s sons, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, an alleged cartel leader; and the cartel’s purported chief hitman, Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, or ‘El Nini,'” Garland mentioned. “Fentanyl represents the most perilous drug threat our nation has ever encountered, and the Justice Department will persist until every cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for harming our communities is brought to justice.”
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Following Guzman’s conviction, his name has been removed from the updated indictment against Zambada Garcia.
Reuters contributed to this report.
