Federal agents arrested two Mexican alleged cartel bosses on Thursday, including Joaquin Guzmán López, the son of infamous cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, in one of the biggest victories for US law enforcement in recent years.
The two detained men belong to the Sinaloa cartel, one of the world’s most powerful drug-trafficking organizations, thought to be responsible for the trafficking of vast amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the US.
Investigators exploited a rift in the cartel and used the help of Guzmán López to lure the other suspect, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, onto a flight bound for El Paso, Texas, where they were eventually arrested. Zambada is a co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel.
“‘El Mayo’ and Guzmán López join an increasingly long list of Sinaloa Cartel leaders and associates whom the Department of Justice holds accountable in the United States,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Guzman Lopez organized his arrest along with that of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, 76, who co-founded the cartel with El Chapo, by luring Zambada on a flight to examine a piece of land he thought was in Mexico, an official familiar with the operation told CNN.
Instead, the plane landed in El Paso, Texas, where federal agents, including from Homeland Security Investigations, arrested the two cartel bosses.
Zambada didn’t know US investigators had exploited a rift in the cartel and Guzman Lopez was helping with Zambada’s capture, the official said. FBI agents arrested both men, in one of the biggest victories for US law enforcement against the cartels.
The cartel, one of the world’s most powerful narcotics trafficking organizations, is thought to be responsible for the trafficking of vast amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the US. DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said the arrests strike “at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast.”
The agents from HSI, who have been working the case since earlier this year when Attorney General Merrick Garland announced charges against El Chapo’s three sons, were skeptical when Guzman Lopez first made the offer.
The entire operation, a source told CNN, went off surprisingly smoothly given the gravity of the arrests and the disruption it could cause to Mexican drug trafficking.
Zambada entered a not-guilty plea to all charges at his first federal court appearance Friday morning in El Paso and is being held without bond on seven federal criminal counts, including continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering.
He also agreed to waive his right to personally appear and to ask for bond at a hearing set for July 31.
Guzman Lopez, 38, was flown from El Paso via an FBI jet used for extradition operations and arrived near Chicago early Friday morning, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said. He is currently in federal custody in the Chicago area. His father is serving a life sentence in a US prison after he was convicted five years ago on multiple charges.
