Mexican drug lord arrested in US

One of the world's most powerful drug lords, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the leader of the Mexican cartel Sinaloa, has been arrested by US government agents in El Paso, Texas.

Zambada, 76, founded a criminal organization with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is currently imprisoned in the US.

Guzman's son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, was arrested with Zambada on Thursday, the US Department of Justice said.

In February, Zambada was charged by US prosecutors with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, a drug more powerful than heroin blamed for the US opioid crisis.

The details of the arrest of the two men are not yet clear, but it seems that they flew into the United States.

Citing Mexican and US officials, i The Wall Street Journal reports that Zambada was tricked into boarding the plane by a senior member of Sinaloa following a months-long operation by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI.

The newspaper added that Zambada is believed to be exploring hidden airfields in Mexico.

Officials said Zambada was “lured” onto a private jet under the “false pretenses” of Guzman Lopez, The New York Times reports.

Zambada believed the plane was going south to Mexico but instead flew north and landed in El Paso, said Fox News Correspondent Bryan Llenas citing law enforcement sources.

Guzman Lopez surrendered to the US authorities and opened Zambada because he “accused Mayo of his father's kidnapping”, said Mr. Llenas.

In a written statement Thursday evening, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the two men lead “one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world”.

“Fentanyl is the most dangerous drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Department of Justice will not rest until every leader, member and associate responsible for feeding our communities is held accountable,” he added.

US prosecutors say the Sinaloa cartel is the largest supplier of drugs to the US.

US authorities have previously noted that fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was offering a reward of up to $15m (£12m) for Zambada's capture.

In the middle The case of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in 2019his lawyers accused Zambada of bribing “the entire” Mexican government in order to live openly without fear of prosecution.

“Actually [Guzman] you didn't control anything,” Guzman's attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, told jurors. “Mayo Zambada did it,” he said.

According to the America's state departmentZambada also owns several legitimate businesses in Mexico, including “a large dairy company, a bus line and a hotel”, as well as real estate.

In addition to the fentanyl charges, he faces charges in the US ranging from drug trafficking, murder, kidnapping, money laundering and organized crime.

In May, Zambada's nephew – Eliseo Imperial Castro, also known as “Cheyo Antrax” – was killed in an ambush in Mexico. He was also wanted by American authorities.

Zambada is arguably the biggest drug kingpin in the world and certainly has the most influence in the Americas.

He has been on the run from authorities for decades, and as a result, his arrest has been a shock in Mexico.

In a statement, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the Sinaloa cartel “started manufacturing fentanyl and has been smuggling it into our country for years, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans and destroying many communities”.

FBI Director Chris Wray said the arrests “exemplify the commitment of the FBI and our partners to disrupting violent criminal organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel,” he said.

As more information emerges, Zambada's arrest will undoubtedly be heralded by President Joe Biden's administration as one of the DEA's most important operations in years.

Zambada founded the Sinaloa cart after the collapse of the Guadalajara cart in the late 1980s.

Although Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was the public face of the organization and the most notorious of the two men, many believed that it was actually El Mayo who was its real leader.

Not only was he ruthless, he was also innovative, creating and maintaining some early links with Colombian companies to flood the US with cocaine and heroin.

And later, fentanyl.

His leadership of the criminal regime has endured in the face of a change of presidents in Mexico and the US, between the anti-drug actions of successive governments and the continuous efforts of his enemies in other drug trafficking organizations to bring him down.

That's not a bad thing in the violent, dangerous and treacherous underworld he's served as the undisputed kingpin for years.

Yet that extraordinary resilience appears to have ended in El Paso, Texas — a city hit by an influx of the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, much of which was trafficked by his organization.