Mexican drug kingpin “El Mayo,” the son of “El Chapo,” is apprehended by the US in Texas

In a significant victory for American law enforcement, Mexican drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and the son of his longtime associate, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, were apprehended on Thursday in El Paso, Texas, potentially altering the criminal landscape in Mexico.

Co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel with El Chapo, who was extradited to the United States in 2017 and is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison, Zambada is one of the most significant traffickers in Mexican history.

Zambada and El Chapo’s son Joaquin Guzman Lopez are both accused of smuggling large amounts of fentanyl and other drugs into American communities and are being prosecuted on several counts in the country. Overdoses from fentanyl have skyrocketed to become the country’s greatest cause of death for individuals between the ages of 18 and 45.

Zambada—who is thought to be in his 70s—and Guzman Lopez—who is in his 30s—were taken into custody following their arrival in the El Paso region aboard a private aircraft.

Three current and former U.S. officials acquainted with the operation who wished to remain anonymous in order to speak openly about the events claim that Guzman Lopez enticed Zambada to the country.

Friday saw the announcement of the arrests, and US President Joe Biden pledged to keep up the fight against drug trafficking.

“The plague of fentanyl has claimed the lives of far too many of our citizens. “This harmful drug has caused far too many families to be destroyed and to suffer,” he stated in a statement.

Drug lords have become prime targets for American law enforcement, who often make plea agreements with them in exchange for information that helps bring other senior cartel members to justice.

Although Reuters was not able to confirm the existence of a plea agreement right away, the Sinaloa cartel may suffer greatly if Zambada was deceived by Guzman Lopez.

When a key Sinaloa boss was arrested in 2008, a violent inter-cartel conflict broke out. El Chapo was accused by his family members of arranging the arrest in coordination with Mexican officials, which led to a violent split between two dominant groups inside the criminal organization.

The New Narcos Generation

One of El Chapo’s four sons, Guzman Lopez is also referred to as Little Chapos, or Los Chapitos, and he inherited their father’s cartel division. Ovidio Guzman, his brother, was detained and extradited to the United States last year.

U.S. authorities have accused the Sinaloa cartel of being the largest supplier of fentanyl to the country, which has made it their top target in recent years.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that Zambada and Guzman Lopez are being prosecuted on several counts “for heading the cartel’s criminal operations, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks.”

Reuters broke the news of Guzman Lopez’s arrest before the Justice Department released a statement confirming their detention in El Paso.

Federal authorities were waiting for a Beechcraft King Air plane to land on the runway at the Santa Teresa airport near El Paso, according to an airport employee who spoke with Reuters on Thursday afternoon.

“A couple exited the aircraft… and were collected into custody in a composed manner,” stated the man, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of compromising his security.

“It seemed like a pretty calm, arranged thing,” he said.

While Guzman Lopez had a $5 million bounty, Zambada had a $15 million reward from US officials for his apprehension.

According to U.S. authorities, the Sinaloa cartel is one of Mexico’s two most potent organized crime gangs and traffics drugs into more than 50 countries worldwide.

The kids of Zambada and El Chapo come from two different trafficking generations, each with his own unique style.

Zambada is renowned for being a “old-school” narco who works in the shadows and stays out of the spotlight. In contrast, El Chapo’s sons are known for being flamboyant narcos who sought notoriety as they rose through the cartel’s ranks.

The sons of El Chapo are also rumored to be more aggressive and impetuous than Zambada, who was regarded as a cunning businessman.

Since their father’s extradition in 2017, Zambada and Guzman Lopez’s sons have had a tense relationship. The arrests of Zambada and Guzman Lopez could potentially incite instability or perhaps violence in their home regions in the northern state of Sinaloa.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations agencies worked together to make these arrests, according to a statement from HSI.

Over the course of the last year, US authorities have indicted Zambada and El Chapo’s sons on new offenses centered on the importation of fentanyl and the supply of precursor chemicals to the illegal laboratories run by their crime empire.

The cartel has developed intricate supply networks over many years in order to transport drugs throughout the world and get highly controlled chemicals for their base of operations in Sinaloa.

An investigation by Reuters, which was released on Thursday, showed how fentanyl precursor chemicals can be purchased online for a startlingly low price from Chinese vendors who deliver the materials door to door across North America.

“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.

Rosa Rodriguez, Mexico’s minister of security, stated on Friday that although Mexican authorities were not involved in the operation, they were notified by the US government about the detentions.