Merrick B. Garland Attorney General at U.S. Department of Justice | Official Website
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that two leaders of the Sinaloa drug cartel were arrested for their roles in the cartel's "deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks." Garland made the statement in a Department of Justice press release on July 25.
"The Justice Department has taken into custody two additional alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world," said Garland, according to U.S. Department of Justice. "Ismael Zambada Garcia, or “El Mayo,” cofounder of the Cartel, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of its other cofounder, were arrested today in El Paso, Texas. 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. 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."
Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of Sinaloa founder "El Chapo," and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, associate founder of the cartel, were both taken into custody on July 25, reported the Wall Street Journal. Lopez set up the arrest by getting Zambada onto a flight under the pretense of examining airstrips in Northern Mexico. Instead, the flight landed in El Paso with United States officials waiting to arrest both of them. Lopez arranged this deal with U.S. law enforcement to avoid a "violent end."
According to the New York Post, though Zambada and El Chapo founded the Sinaloa cartel as allies, they eventually turned on each other in their fight for power over the networks of drug trafficking the cartel ran. When El Chapo was arrested in 2016, Zambada's brother and son testified against him. It is suspected that this "coup," in which El Chapo's son turned both himself and Zambada into U.S. custody, is a ploy to lessen his punishment and himself become the leader of the cartel.
CNN reports that the Sinaloa Cartel began in the 1980s by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. By the 2010s, the cartel ran about 40-60% of all Mexican drug trade. El Chapo evaded arrest several times before being captured in 2016. Zambada was charged repeatedly with fentanyl manufacture and sale.
Merrick Garland is the United States Attorney General, according to the DOJ website. He has held office since 2021.
