US authorities have arrested ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel

By The Associated Press on July 25, 2024.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and JoaquÃn GuzmÃ¡n LÃ³pez, a son of another infamous cartel leader, were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas, the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday.

A leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel for decades alongside JoaquÃn “El Chapo” GuzmÃ¡n, Zambada was known for running the cartel’s smuggling operations, but keeping a lower profile.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his capture.

“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,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. They were arrested Thursday in El Paso.

Zambada’s detention follows some important arrests of other Sinaloa cartel figures, including one of his sons and another one of GuzmÃ¡n’s,