Son of ‘El Chapo’ and ‘EI Mayo’ Arrest in Texas

In the wake of the surprise arrests of two alleged Mexican drug dealers in Texas, three law enforcement officials say investigators believe one of them may have fooled the other on a plane to the United States.

The son of jailed Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán Loira and the cartel co-founder who helped lead him for three decades was arrested Thursday in El Paso, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

López and Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael “EI Mayo” Zambada García have both been indicted in the United States, and face “multiple charges” in connection with the Mexico-based criminal organization, including “its deadly fentanyl including the manufacture and trafficking network,” Garland said in a statement.

All three law enforcement sources say authorities are looking into whether Guzmán López tricked “EI Mayo” Zambada into boarding a plane bound for the United States. The plane flew first to New Mexico and then to El Paso, where the two men were Arrested and taken into custody.

Guzmán was taken by authorities to Chicago, while Zambada remained in El Paso, where he is expected to appear in federal court on Friday.

One theory is that Guzmán decided to surrender and was under the impression that he would be treated more favorably if he brought another major cartel figure with him, sources said.

Homeland Security Investigations says the arrests are the result of a joint effort by HSI and the FBI targeting the cartel.

The crime lord known as “El Chapo” was arrested in Mexico and extradited to the United States and is serving a life sentence plus 30 years, which was handed down in New York in 2019.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said in its 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment that the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are “at the heart of the synthetic drug crisis in the United States,” including fentanyl and methamphetamine.

“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Department of Justice will not rest until every single cartel leader responsible for poisoning our communities is brought to justice,” Garland said in the statement. Member, and partner should not be held accountable.”

Another son of “El Chapo,” Ovido Guzmán López, also an alleged cartel leader, was arrested in Mexico in January 2023 and extradited to the United States to face drug and money laundering charges. had gone. He pleaded not guilty in September.

A federal grand jury indicted Joaquín Guzmán López and Ovidio Guzmán López in 2018 on charges alleging conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana in the United States.

A federal grand jury also indicted Joaquin Guzmán López, Ovidio Guzmán López and two other sons of “El Chapo” last year, the Justice Department said at the time.

Two other sons, Iván Guzmán Salazar and Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, have not been arrested. The four sons, known as the “Cheptos,” took over their father’s drug-trafficking networks and his faction of the cartel, federal authorities said.

The DEA says four criminal organizations comprise the Sinaloa cartel, including “Los Chapitos,” which was run by the four sons.

The brothers promoted making fentanyl a larger part of the cartel’s business, the DEA said in the 2024 report.

“The Sinaloa cartel has been producing large amounts of fentanyl since at least 2012, but the Chaptos faction is responsible for driving the importance of fentanyl to the cartel’s ‘bottom line,'” the report states.

Zembada Garcia, known as “EI Mayo,” co-founded the cartel and served as co-head of the criminal organization for three decades, according to the DEA. He controls one of the four factions that make up the cartel.

Zambada Garcia was a partner of “El Chapo” but has recently been involved in an internal battle with the “Cheptos”.

Zambada Garcia has also been indicted in the U.S. He was recently indicted in an additional indictment in February charging him with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, the Justice Department announced at the time.

DEA Administrator Ann Milgram said Zambada Garcia’s arrest “strikes the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the vast majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, that kill Americans from coast to coast.”

“El Meo is one of the DEA’s most wanted fugitives and is in custody tonight and will soon face justice in a US court,” Milgram said in a statement.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were an estimated 107,543 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. last year, most of them — an estimated 74,702 — from synthetic opioids, including fentanyl. It said the second most were from psychoactive drugs such as methamphetamine, which caused an estimated 36,251 deaths.

The Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels make fentanyl in labs in Mexico and then ship it into the U.S., the DEA said in this year’s report.

Both cartels are accused of ordering subordinates to stop fentanyl trafficking last year, and Chapitos made a public show about it, but the DEA concluded that “the ban may have been a public relations is a stunt.”

“During 2023, fentanyl was seized at the border in equal or greater amounts than in previous years, and no DEA field office reported that fentanyl was less available or more expensive, either of which in supply. There will be an indication of deficiency.