WASHINGTON -- Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a longstanding leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and Joaquín Guzmán López, son of another infamous cartel leader, were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas on Thursday, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Zambada, who has led the powerful Sinaloa cartel for decades alongside Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, is known for managing the cartel’s smuggling operations while maintaining a low profile. The U.S. government had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to Zambada's capture. The Justice Department confirmed that the men were arrested in El Paso but did not provide immediate details on how the arrests occurred.
Zambada, with extensive connections to Colombian cocaine suppliers and operations across the United States, has been a key figure in the Sinaloa Cartel since the 1970s. Authorities state that the cartel's primary income source has been the sale of narcotics in the United States.
Zambada and Guzmán López face multiple charges for leading the cartel’s criminal activities, 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 stated.
U.S. authorities have pursued Zambada's capture for years. He was charged in the Eastern District of New York with conspiring to manufacture and distribute the synthetic opioid. Prosecutors assert that he continued to lead the Sinaloa cartel, described as one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations globally.
Zambada, one of the longest-surviving cartel leaders in Mexico, was considered the cartel's strategist, more involved in day-to-day operations than his more notorious boss, “El Chapo” Guzmán, who was sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. in 2019. Guzmán is the father of Guzmán López.
Unlike younger cartel kingpins known for their extravagant lifestyles and brutal tactics, Zambada focused on the business side of trafficking and avoided drawing attention through violence. In a 2010 interview with the Mexican magazine Proceso, he revealed his fear of imprisonment and said he would consider suicide over being captured.
“I’m terrified of being incarcerated,” Zambada admitted. “I’d like to think that, yes, I would kill myself.”
Despite his low profile, Zambada maintained strong local support in his home state of Sinaloa and neighboring Durango by supporting local farmers and distributing money and beer in his birthplace of El Alamo.
Zambada's early life remains largely unknown, but he is believed to have started as an enforcer in the 1970s. By the early 1990s, he was a major player in the Juarez cartel, transporting tons of cocaine and marijuana. His alliances with Colombian traffickers helped him rise in the cartel world, eventually leading him to break away from the Juarez cartel without igniting a turf war. His partnership with “El Chapo” Guzmán elevated him to the top of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Zambada's arrest follows other significant captures within the Sinaloa cartel, including his son and another son of “El Chapo,” Ovidio Guzmán López. Zambada's son pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court in San Diego in 2021 to being a leader in the cartel. In recent years, Guzmán's sons have led a faction of the cartel known as the Chapitos, which is a major exporter of fentanyl to the U.S. They are known for their violent and flamboyant behavior. Their security chief was arrested by Mexican authorities in November.
Ovidio Guzmán López was arrested and extradited to the U.S. last year, pleading not guilty to drug trafficking charges in Chicago in September.
Mike Vigil, former head of international operations for the DEA, said Zambada’s arrest is significant but unlikely to impact the flow of drugs to the U.S. Joaquín Guzmán López was the least influential of the four sons making up the Chapitos, Vigil said.
“This is a great blow for the rule of law, but is it going to have an impact on the cartel? I don’t think so,” Vigil commented. “It’s not going to have a dent on the drug trade because somebody from within the cartel is going to replace him.”