The day before, in the American state of Texas, one of the most prominent drug lords in the history of Mexico Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was arrested. Together with El Mayo, Joaquin Guzmán López — the son of his former partner Joaquin Guzmán Loera, known as “El Chapo” — was arrested.
This is reported by Reuters.
Zambada is one of the most prominent drug traffickers in Mexican history. He co-founded the Sinaloa cartel with “El Chapo”, who was extradited to the United States in 2017 and has since been serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison.
Both Zambadi and El Chapoʼs son have been indicted in the US on multiple counts of drug trafficking, including fentanyl, which has become one of the leading causes of death for Americans aged 18 to 45.
70-year-old Zambada and 30-year-old Guzman Lopez were arrested in the El Paso area of Texas immediately after they landed on a private plane.
Three US officials familiar with the operation to arrest drug lords told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Zambada was lured to the United States by Guzmán López. American authorities often make deals with drug traffickers that provide for a reduced sentence in exchange for information that will help arrest other, more influential figures in the drug business.
So far, it is not known for certain whether Guzman Lopez entered into such an agreement with US law enforcement agencies. However, if it turns out that Corotunʼs son has indeed betrayed Zambada, it will have serious consequences for the Sinaloa Cartel.
In 2008, a bloody war broke out between the cartels, when another of the Sinaloa leaders was arrested. Family members of this leader accused El Chapo of handing him over to Mexican authorities. This caused a sharp split between the two powerful wings of the criminal group.
Guzmán López is one of El Chapoʼs four sons, known as "Los Chapitos." They inherited a wing of the Sinaloa cartel from their father. His brother Ovidio Guzman was arrested last year and extradited to the United States.
In recent years, the Sinaloa cartel has become the biggest target of US authorities, who have accused the crime syndicate of being the largest supplier of fentanyl to the US.
An employee at the Santa Teresa airport near El Paso told Reuters on Thursday afternoon that he saw a private Beechcraft King Air plane land on the runway, where FBI agents were already waiting for it.
"Two people got off the plane and were calmly taken into custody. Everything looked quite calm and orderly," the interlocutor of the news agency said.
The US authorities have set a $15 million reward for Zambadaʼs arrest, and $5 million for Guzmán López.
According to US authorities, the Sinaloa cartel sells drugs to more than 50 countries and is one of the two most powerful organized crime groups in Mexico.
Zambada and El Chapoʼs sons belong to two different generations of drug traffickers and have different "handwriting".
Zambada is known for being an "old-school" drug dealer — avoiding the limelight and working in the shadows. El Chapoʼs sons, on the other hand, have a reputation as flamboyant drug traffickers who drew attention loudly after inheriting power in the cartel from their father. Sons of El Chapo" are also known as more violent and hot-tempered, unlike Zambada, who had the reputation of a gray cardinal.