Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel kingpins captured by U.S. authorities

July 26 (UPI) -- Two top leaders of the Sinaloa drug cartel, one of Mexico's most dominant criminal organizations, have been arrested by U.S law enforcement personnel, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

Ismael Zambada García, known as "El Mayo," and Joaquín Guzmán López, son of the infamous drug kingpin known as "El Chapo," are two of the most powerful drug traffickers in Mexico and both are reported to be in custody in El Paso, Tx.

"El Mayo" is considered a cofounder of the Sinaloa cartel, who started the organization alongside Lopez's father, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, who became known as "El Chapo."

The Lopez and El Mayo pair is believed to be responsible for trafficking huge shipments of cocaine and fentanyl into the United States and other countries. The Justice Department, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Homeland Security, among others, have been trying for years to staunch the trafficking of drugs into the United States by the Sinaloa cartel.

It has taken so long, in fact, that a large portion of the drugs being smuggled has transitioned from cocaine to fentanyl, a dangerous and often lethal synthetic opioid many times more powerful than heroin.

"Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement . "The Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable."

Both men are facing multiple charges in the United States. Lopez could be arraigned in the next few days in Chicago. It is not clear where Zambada García, who has never spent time in Jail, will appear.

El Mayo and Lopez carried on the drug trade business started and run by Lopez and El Chapo until the older Guzman was finally caught after multiple prison escapes in Mexico and extradited to the United States.

He was convicted in a Brooklyn federal court in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison on drug conspiracy charges. He is serving a life sentence at a supermax prison in Colorado.

Lopez and Ambada Garcia join a growing list of Sinaloa Cartel operatives who have been brought into custody by U.S. officials. Ovidio Guzman Lopez, another of El Chapo Guzman's sons, and an alleged leader of the Cartel, and operative Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, or "El Nini," have also been arrested in connection with the organization's trafficking operations.

The Sinaloa Cartel has grown from its grassroots beginnings under El Chapo's leadership into one of the world's most dangerous and sophisticated drug trafficking operations.