El Chapo’s son and notorious drug lord ‘El Mayo’ arrested, Justice Department says

Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, the co-founder and top leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, was arrested in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday, the Justice Department said.

The authorities also arrested Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of the now-convicted Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo.” López and his brother the little Chapos, or “Chapitos,” lead a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Fox News reported López cut a deal with the U.S. authorities by turning on El Mayo.

This deal allowed the U.S. authorities to divert the private plane López and El Mayo were on to Texas. López surrendered but El Mayo, who has four arrest warrants outstanding in the U.S., was captured.

El Mayo arrived in court Friday morning and entered a not guilty plea to drug trafficking charges, as The Associated Press reported . Neither he nor his lawyers have issued a comment.

What did Justice Department say about El Mayo’s arrest?

Justice Department Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said , “Both men are facing multiple charges in the United States for leading the Cartel’s criminal operations, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks.”

He described the Sinaloa Cartel as “one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world.”

Garland said the Justice Department had taken into custody “El Chapo,” the other co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, and another son of El Chapo, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, an alleged cartel leader.

El Chapo was sentenced to life in prison in 2019. His appeals have been rejected.

“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,” the attorney general said. It is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.

U.S., Mexican governments react to El Mayo’s arrest

President Joe Biden in a statement praised law enforcement officials who made the arrest and condemned fentanyl trafficking into the U.S.

“Too many of our citizens have lost their lives to the scourge of fentanyl. Too many families have been broken and are suffering because of this destructive drug,” Biden said. “My administration will continue doing everything we can to hold deadly drug traffickers to account and to save American lives.”

According to CNN , Mexican officials did not know about this operation and received information about the arrests from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico over the phone. The Mexican government is awaiting more information.

El Mayo is the last of the fugitives on Mexico’s 2009 list of 37 most-wanted drug lords.

The U.S. authorities have pursued El Mayo for years. In 2021, the State Department offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest.

“Zambada Garcia is unique in that he has spent his entire adult life as a major international drug trafficker, yet he has never spent a day in jail,” the State Department’s “wanted” page for El Mayo says.

As The Associated Press noted , El Mayo lived in deep fear of being incarcerated.