Source: ALFREDO ESTRELLA / Getty
Just when it seemed like things were quieting down on the drug front in Mexico, U.S. authorities pulled off quite the big haul when they took into custody two of the biggest names in the drug cartel game.
According to ABC News, Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez (the son of “El Chapo” Guzman), were officially placed under arrest Thursday (July 25), in El Paso, Texas. The Department of Justice announced the news and said that both men would be charged for their senior roles in the drug trafficking enterprise that turned certain parts of Mexico into a war zone.
With Sinaloa cartel OG Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman already serving a life sentence for his role in the cartel, this is a pretty huge haul for the Department of Justice. FBI Director Christopher Wray spoke on the matter and acknowledged as much.
ABC News reports:
“Today, the FBI and DEA arrested two alleged cartel leaders who have eluded law enforcement for decades. Ismael Mario ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of El Chapo, will now face justice in the United States,” Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.
“Garcia and Guzman have allegedly overseen the trafficking of tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the U.S. along with related violence. These arrests are an example of the FBI’s and our partners commitment to dismantling violent transnational criminal organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel,” Wray said.
The circumstances behind Zambada and Guzman Lopez being taken into custody were not immediately clear as of Thursday evening, however, the men were arrested in an operation that ended on U.S. soil.
“El Mayo” thought he was headed to inspect a clandestine Mexican airfield, of which the Sinaloa cartel has many in the country. Instead, according to a Homeland Security Investigations official, a senior ranking member of the cartel tricked him and flew him to El Paso instead.
Upon landing on the tarmac, agents from HSI, along with the FBI arrested “El Mayo” and Guzman.
Clever trap. Sounds like Netflix might turn this into a season of Narcos with that last maneuver alone.
Having planned this operation for months, you can only imagine how much man power went into pulling this off and how many nerves were on edge while it was being executed.
While we’re sure they will be replaced by other members of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, this is still a huge haul for the DOJ who’ve been doing everything they can to stop the flow of drugs from Mexico into the United States.
Don’t be surprised if the streets get dry for a while. Just sayin’.