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Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a longtime leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of another infamous cartel leader, were arrested by US authorities in Texas on Thursday, the US Justice Department said.
A leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel for decades alongside Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, Zambada is one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world and known for running the cartel’s smuggling operations while keeping a lower profile.
The US government had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to Zambada’s capture. The Justice Department said the men were arrested in El Paso but didn’t immediately provide details about how they were taken into custody.
With strong ties to Colombian cocaine suppliers and his cells across the United States, Zambada has been among the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel since the 1970s. The group’s principal livelihood has been the sale of narcotics in the United States, authorities said.
Zambada and Guzmán López are facing multiple charges “for leading the cartel’s criminal operations, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
“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,” Garland said in a statement.
