Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of drug lord “El Chapo,” and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, the alleged co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, were arrested Thursday in El Paso and taken into federal custody, Justice Department officials said.
Although it’s unclear why the pair landed a private jet in the West Texas city, three law enforcement officers familiar with the matter told NBC News that Guzmán López may have duped Zambada into joining him on the flight. The officers said Guzmán Lopez may have planned to surrender to U.S. officials and hoped to receive more favorable treatment by bringing along another Cartel jefe.
Guzmán López and Zambada both face multiple charges relating to the cartel’s fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks, according to the Justice Department. At one point, the Drug Enforcement Administration offered a $15 million reward for Zambada’s capture.
The U.S. tallied some 75,000 fentanyl-related deaths last year, according to Centers for Disease Control estimates. Of those, 14 were in Texas’ Hays County, which has been struggling with a spike in synthetic opioid-related deaths among high school students.
Federal authorities flew Guzmán López to Chicago, while Zambada is expected to appear in El Paso federal court on Friday, NBC News reports.
Guzman Lopez’s father co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel alongside Zambada. “El Chapo” has been in federal custody since being extradited to the U.S. in 2017. He’s currently serving a life sentence without possibility of parole.
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This article appears in Best of San Antonio 2024.
