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An alleged Mexican cause kingpin suspected of flooding the United States with deadly fentanyl and who evaded authorities for decades is in US custody aft helium was seemingly lured crossed the borderline by national agents with different alleged person of his cartel who was helping with his capture, according to a US instrumentality enforcement authoritative briefed connected the investigation.
Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, 76, the alleged co-founder and person of the almighty Sinaloa cartel, was arrested successful El Paso, Texas, Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said successful a statement.
Another alleged cartel leader, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 38, was besides arrested, helium said. Guzman is simply a lad of the cartel's infamous co-founder and erstwhile brag Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, 69, who is serving a beingness condemnation successful a US situation aft helium was convicted 5 years agone connected aggregate charges.
Zambada boarded a level with Guzman Lopez, believing they were inspecting spot successful Mexico adjacent the US border, the instrumentality enforcement authoritative said.
But Zambada didn't cognize US investigators had exploited a rift successful the Sinaloa cartel and Guzman Lopez was helping with Zambada's capture, the authoritative said.
The level alternatively landed adjacent El Paso and FBI agents arrested some men, successful 1 of the biggest victories for US instrumentality enforcement against the cartels.
"Two individuals got disconnected the level ... and were calmly taken into custody," by national agents who were waiting, a idiosyncratic astatine the Santa Teresa airdrome adjacent El Paso told Reuters. "It seemed similar a beauteous calm, arranged thing," the man, who declined to stock his sanction retired of interest for his safety, said.
Mexican officials were informed of the arrests during a telephone telephone from the US Embassy successful Mexico Thursday afternoon, Mexico's caput of security, Rosa Icela Rodriguez, said Friday.
"The Mexican authorities did not enactment successful this detention oregon surrender," Rodriguez said during President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's regular quality conference, adding Mexico is waiting for much accusation from the US government.
Based connected accusation from Mexico's National Immigration Institute, Rodriguez said, it is believed the men traveled successful a Cessna 205 from Hermosillo, Mexico, to the Santa Teresa airdrome successful Texas.
Zambada has 4 progressive apprehension warrants successful Mexico for organized transgression and different unlawful acts, Rodriquez said.
In the US, some Zambada and Guzman Lopez look respective charges for allegedly starring the cartel's transgression operations, including its "deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks," Garland said.
"Fentanyl is the deadliest cause menace our state has ever faced, and the Justice Department volition not remainder until each azygous cartel leader, member, and subordinate liable for poisoning our communities is held accountable," Garland said.
Among assorted transgression charges Zambada faces successful the US, helium was indicted by a bluish Illinois expansive assemblage successful 2009, according to the US State Department.
While his whereabouts are unclear, CNN has learned that a US Justice Department craft often utilized for extraditions traveled from El Paso and landed astatine an airdrome adjacent Chicago aboriginal Friday morning.
US authorities had sought Zambada's seizure for years and successful 2021 raised the reward for accusation starring to his apprehension to $15 million.
"Ismael Mario Zambada Garcia is the long-time person of the Zambada Garcia faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. Zambada Garcia is unsocial successful that helium has spent his full big beingness arsenic a large planetary cause trafficker, yet helium has ne'er spent a time successful jail," according to the US State Department.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said Zambada and Guzman Lopez had "eluded instrumentality enforcement for decades" and "will present look justness successful the United States."
The brace allegedly oversaw the trafficking of "tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the US on with related violence," Wray added.
Drug Enforcement Administration main Anne Milgram said the pair's arrests onslaught "at the bosom of the cartel that is liable for the bulk of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, sidesplitting Americans from seashore to coast."
Powerful cartel
The Sinaloa Cartel, named aft the Mexican authorities wherever the pack was formed successful the precocious 1980s, is 1 of the astir almighty transgression groups successful the world, raking successful billions of dollars annually by trafficking drugs into the US and astir the globe.
Notorious cartel brag Guzman, amended known arsenic "El Chapo," was arrested successful Guatemala successful 1993 connected homicide and cause charges and extradited to Mexico. But helium escaped Mexican situation successful 2001, reportedly by bribing situation guards to smuggle him retired successful a laundry truck. He was arrested again successful 2014, but escaped again, this clip done a tunnel.
Guzman was arrested for a 3rd clip successful 2016 and past extradited to the United States.
In a large trial, helium was convicted by a national assemblage successful Brooklyn successful 2018 and sentenced to beingness successful situation positive 30 years, according to the Justice Department.
Guzman was recovered blameworthy connected 10 national transgression counts, which included engaging successful a continuing transgression enterprise, conspiracy to launder narcotics proceeds, planetary organisation of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, and usage of firearms.
During the trial, Guzman's lawyers argued that Zambada was the existent kingpin of the cartel who bribed the Mexican authorities to framework Guzman and stay escaped to tally the transgression organization.
In the latest successful a drawstring of US indictments against him, Zambada was charged successful February with conspiring to manufacture and administer fentanyl, an highly potent synthetic opioid that has killed tens of thousands of Americans successful an epidemic of overdoses.
Fentanyl "was mostly unheard of erstwhile [Zambada] founded the Sinaloa Cartel much than 3 decades agone and contiguous is liable for immeasurable harm," said Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, successful the indictment.
Since 1989, Zambada has imported and distributed "massive amounts of narcotics," generating billions of dollars successful profits, according to the indictment.
Federal prosecutors said helium employed radical to get "transportation routes and warehouses" to import and store narcotics, on with deed men, oregon sicarios, to transportation retired kidnappings and murders successful Mexico "to retaliate against rivals who threatened the cartel."
Zambada's son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, admitted during grounds astatine Guzman's 2018 proceedings to passing on orders for murders and kidnappings and was sentenced to 15 years successful 2019 by a national justice successful Chicago.
He began cooperating with the US authorities successful 2011, prosecutors said successful a May 2019 filing. They said helium aided authorities successful helping people members of the Sinaloa Cartel and a rival gang, which led to the "charging of dozens of high-level targets and hundreds of their associates successful indictments passim the country," CNN antecedently reported.
The younger Zambada had known "El Chapo" since helium was 15 years old, helium testified astatine the kingpin's proceedings successful 2018. The younger Zambada often referred to "El Chapo" arsenic "mi compadre," oregon "my buddy," during his grounds and said the cause lord was godfather to his youngest son.
A past of violence
"El Mayo" Zambada was besides indicted by a US national expansive assemblage successful April 2012, successful Texas, on with different suspected apical Sinaloa leaders and 22 radical allegedly connected with the cartel, including Guzman. They were charged with execution and conspiracy connected with cause trafficking, wealth laundering and organized crime.
At that point, Guzman and Zambada had already been indicted connected cause trafficking and organized transgression charges successful respective US national courts.
The 2012 indictment successful occidental Texas elaborate 2 acts of unit national prosecutors said were committed by members of the cartel; 1 took spot during a 2010 wedding ceremonial successful Ciudad Juarez, erstwhile an American national and 2 members of his household were kidnapped due to the fact that of their ties with the rival Juarez cartel.
The people was the groom and a nonmigratory of Columbus, New Mexico, whose assemblage was recovered to beryllium beaten, strangled and whose hands had been "severed supra the wrists and placed connected his chest," according to the indictment.
Police recovered the bodies of the groom, his member and his uncle 3 days aft the wedding successful the furniture of a pickup truck, the indictment stated.
Another incidental elaborate successful the indictment related to the kidnapping, sidesplitting and mutilation of a Texas nonmigratory successful 2009 "to reply for the nonaccomplishment of a 670-pound load of marijuana seized by the Border Patrol," prosecutors said.
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