Latest news Two important drug lords from Mexico arrested in the USA

After half a century in the drug business, one of Mexico's most powerful drug lords has been arrested in the USA for the first time. The US authorities arrested Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, co-founder of the violent Sinaloa cartel, in the Texan border town of El Paso, said US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday (local time). He added that a son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, who is imprisoned in the USA, had been arrested.

Garland did not provide any information on the circumstances of the arrest. According to initial Mexican media reports, 76-year-old Zambada and 38-year-old Joaquín Guzmán López voluntarily surrendered to the authorities. However, there was no official confirmation of this. The Mexican authorities did not comment at first. According to the television station Televisa and other Mexican media, the arrests were made at a private airport in El Paso.

"El Mayo and Guzmán López join a growing list of leaders and associates of the Sinaloa cartel that the Department of Justice in the United States is holding accountable," said Garland. Both had spearheaded the cartel's criminal activities, including the production of the drug fentanyl, which is causing a devastating health crisis in the US.

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. Zambada is facing several charges in the USA, including conspiracy to manufacture cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl, murder and money laundering.

Zambada remained as the head of part of the Sinaloa cartel after Guzmán Loera's arrest in 2016. El Chapo is serving a life sentence in the USA. Four of his sons, known as "Los Chapitos" (translated: "the little Chapos"), acted as leaders of another faction.

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 prison two days ago - without having been tried or convicted. "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 cartels from Sinaloa and Jalisco wage bloody gang wars

In addition to numerous smaller gangs, there are two large drug cartels in Mexico, which 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 for a time. Last year, more than 30,000 murders were recorded in Mexico, which has a population of around 126 million.