by Mick the Ram

A top drug lord and leader of one of the world’s most violent and powerful cartels, has spectacularly been arrested on US soil after being tricked into boarding a plane in Mexico.

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who oversees the operations of the Sinaloa Cartel, was fooled into taking a flight which he believed was heading to inspect potential clandestine airstrips in southern Mexico, but instead he touched down on a private airfield near El Paso, Texas.

It was the culmination of a carefully planned sting by the Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI.

The 76-year-old Zambada had founded the drug trafficking organisation with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, (who is serving a life sentence in the US) and is currently regarded as having the most influence in the drugs world of anybody in the Americas.

He had evaded authorities for decades, and as such, his arrest has come as a shock in Mexico, with the president calling for full transparency from the US regarding the capture.

In a sensational twist, also on the aircraft and arrested at the same time, was Guzman’s son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who official are reporting helped lure the “boss” onto the plane.

The Sinaloa Cartel are considered to be the largest organisation of its type in the Western Hemisphere and are known to be responsible for the production and distribution of vast amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl – a drug even more destructive than heroin.

Zambada is being held without bond, and is due to appear in court on 31 July.

Always considered real leader

“El Chapo” was always the public face of the Sinaloa Cartel, which came to prominence following the collapse of the Guadalajara Cartel towards the end of the eighties; however many in the know always believed that Lambada was in fact the real leader.

Once his co-founder was extradited to the States in 2017 and given a life sentence in a maximum security prison, he took over complete control and created links with Colombian cartels to flood the US with cocaine, heroin and more recently fentanyl.

Authorities have produced figures to support that the introduction of this latest substance is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45.

Committed to ending criminal gangs

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had placed a reward of up to $15m on Zambada’s head and FBI director Chris Wray said these arrests were an example of the unit’s commitment to “dismantling violent transnational criminal organisations”.

Violence of the cartel

As the feared leader of Sinaloa Cartel, Zambada employed individuals and “sicarios” (a fancy term for hit men) to carry out the violent criminal activities.

These would include securing transportation routes and warehouses to import and store narcotics, as well as commit murders and kidnappings in Mexico, to retaliate against those who were perceived as a threat to the cartel.

These operations were able to generate tens of millions of dollars from drug sales.

Blood thicker than water

Guzman Lopez, who is 38-years-old, was flown from El Paso in an FBI jet used for extradition operations and taken to Chicago, where he currently is being held in a federal prison. It is understood he will face his opening court appearance on 30 July.

The supposition is that Lopez surrendered to US authorities and turned on Zambada due to the fact that he blamed him for the capture of his father.

It was during that trial that El Chapo’s lawyers accused Zambada of bribing the “entire” Mexican government, in exchange for living openly without fear of prosecution.

Multiple charges

On Zambada’s arrest his is attorney Frank Perez said he had no comment, apart from saying that his client “did not surrender voluntarily”.

Alongside fentanyl charges, he is also facing charges in the US ranging from drug trafficking, murder, kidnapping, money laundering and organised crime.

President calls for transparency

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador remarked that they were still awaiting details about the arrests, but confirmed that they were not involved in the operation.

Although he hailed the arrests, he added some caution by suggesting others could step in to fill the vacuum and insisted that the US would have to provide a complete report, “not just general statements, there must be transparency,” he said.