Leader of the Sinaloa cartel Mexican drug lord "El Mayo" captured in the USA

dpa

26.7.2024 - 12:53

Was it betrayal? Or a deal with the law? The arrest of one of Mexico's most cunning narco bosses in the USA is the stuff of a series. Experts warn of more violence.

DPA

26.07.2024, 12:53

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The two leaders of the notorious Sinaloa cartel have been arrested.
Initial reports stated that drug kingpin "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of the capo Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, who is imprisoned in the USA, had handed themselves in to the American authorities in the Texan border town of El Paso.
The two men are allegedly responsible for smuggling cocaine and fentanyl into the USA.

One of Mexico's most powerful and most wanted drug lords has been arrested in the USA after a decade-long manhunt:

The US authorities have captured Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, co-founder of the notorious Sinaloa cartel, in the Texan border town of El Paso, announced US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday (local time).

Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of the capo Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, who is imprisoned in the USA and also one of the leaders of the cartel, was arrested with him.

Betrayed by his own people?

Garland did not provide any information on the circumstances of the arrest. US media reported, citing security officials, that Zambada had been deceived and lured into a trap.

The "Wall Street Journal" wrote that he had boarded a private plane with Guzmán López, thinking they were going to visit secret landing sites in Mexico. Instead, the plane flew across the border into the USA and landed at a small airfield in Texas, where they were both arrested.

The New York Times reported that Guzmán López himself had lured Zambada onto the plane. The hit had been prepared for months, the reports continued. Mexican media, on the other hand, wrote that the two had voluntarily handed themselves in to the US authorities - possibly following a deal with the judiciary.

In contrast to other drug lords, who liked to show off an extravagant life of luxury, Zambada had lived a very secluded and rather discreet life, it was said. At the same time, the 76-year-old ex-companion of "El Chapo" had bribed politicians and security officials on a grand scale. As a result, he had never been caught in his 50 years in the drugs business.

To the outside world, he presented himself as a wealthy rancher. As such, he had also become known as "El Señor del Sombrero" (the gentleman with the hat). His nickname "El Mayo" is said to derive from his middle name Mario.

The constant fear of being caught

"I panic about being locked up," Zambada told the Mexican magazine "Proceso" in 2010. He lives in constant fear. If he is arrested, he hopes he will have the courage to kill himself, he said at the time. When asked whether he would ever be caught, he replied: "At any moment or never."

"El Mayo and Guzmán López join a growing list of leaders and associates of the Sinaloa cartel that the Department of Justice is holding accountable in the United States," Garland said.

Both had spearheaded the cartel's criminal activities, including the production of the deadly drug fentanyl, which is causing a devastating health crisis in the US.

The synthetic opioid is around 50 times stronger than heroin and, according to the Department of Justice, is the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 18 and 49. Fentanyl is originally a powerful painkiller.

Experts warn of more violence

However, experts believe that the arrests will not have much effect. It is unlikely that they will have a major impact on the smuggling of fentanyl or other drugs from Mexico, analyst Falko Ernst from the think tank International Crisis Group told the New York Times.

The Sinaloa cartel is now a highly decentralized organization. "We are not talking about a structure that depends on a few bosses - it is very diffuse and resistant to such blows." Instead, there may now be a power struggle for supremacy and therefore more violence.

Mexican columnist Héctor de Mauleón wrote in the newspaper "El Universal" that Zambada's arrest could make many in his country nervous - for fear that "El Mayo" will come clean. "It could trigger an earthquake in Mexico, because Zambada is the drug lord who has been free the longest."

Reward in the millions

The US State Department had offered a reward of up to 15 million US dollars (13.8 million euros) for information that could lead to Zambada's arrest. He is facing several charges in the USA, including conspiracy to manufacture cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl, murder and money laundering.

Zambada remained head of part of the Sinaloa cartel after "El Chapo's" arrest in 2016. " El Chapo" is serving a life sentence in the USA. Four of his sons, known as "Los Chapitos" ("the little Chapos"), acted as leaders of another faction - including Guzmán López, who has now been arrested.

The youngest of them, Ovidio Guzmán, was arrested and extradited from Mexico to the USA in September. According to the US Department of Corrections, he was only released from custody two days ago - without a trial or conviction.

"El Mayo's" son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, is also free again in the USA. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison there in 2019, later cooperated with the judicial authorities and was released early.

The drug cartels wage bloody gang wars

In addition to numerous smaller gangs, there are two large drug cartels in Mexico that originate from the states of Sinaloa and Jalisco.

They engage in violent conflicts over the control of drug trafficking and the smuggling of migrants who want to enter the USA.

The arrests of drug lords often lead to an increase in violence. Last year, more than 30,000 murders were recorded in Mexico, which has a population of around 126 million.