Mexican kingpin Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada's arrest likely to set off violent jockeying for power

MEXICO CITY -- A caller epoch is coming for Mexico's almighty Sinaloa cartel successful the aftermath of the seizure by U.S. authorities of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the past of the expansive aged Mexican cause traffickers.

Experts judge his apprehension volition usher successful a caller question of unit successful Mexico adjacent arsenic Zambada could perchance supply loads of accusation for U.S. prosecutors.

Zambada, who had eluded authorities for decades and had ne'er acceptable ft successful prison, was known for being an astute operator, skilled astatine corrupting officials and having an quality to negociate with everyone, including rivals.

Removing him from the transgression scenery could acceptable disconnected an interior warfare for power of the cartel that has a planetary scope - arsenic has occurred with the apprehension oregon killings of different kingpins - and unfastened the doorway to the much convulsive inclinations of a younger procreation of Sinaloa traffickers, experts say.

With that successful mind, the Mexican authorities deployed 200 members of its peculiar forces Friday to Culiacan, Sinaloa state's capital.

There is "significant imaginable for precocious escalation of unit crossed Mexico," said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a elder chap successful the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy and Technology astatine the Brookings Institution. That "is atrocious for Mexico, it's atrocious for the United States, arsenic good arsenic the anticipation that the adjacent much vicious (Jalisco New Generation cartel) volition emergence to adjacent greater importance."

For that reason, Zambada's apprehension could beryllium considered a "great tactical success," but strategically problematic, Felbab-Brown said.

While details stay scarce, a United States authoritative who spoke connected information of anonymity said Zambada was tricked into flying to the U.S., wherever helium was arrested on with Joaquín Guzmán López, a lad of the infamous Sinaloa person Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. The elder Guzmán is serving a beingness condemnation successful the United States.

A tiny level near Hermosillo successful bluish Mexico connected Thursday greeting with lone an American aviator aboard, bound for the airdrome successful Santa Teresa, New Mexico, adjacent El Paso, Texas. Mexican Security Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez said Friday that portion 1 idiosyncratic near Hermosillo, 3 radical arrived successful New Mexico.

The formation tracking tract Flight Aware showed the level stopped transmitting its elevation and velocity for astir fractional an hr implicit the mountains of bluish Mexico earlier resuming its people to the U.S.

Later, López Obrador, portion talking astir wherever the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are battling for power of smuggling routes on the Guatemala borderline connected Friday, downplayed the unit that had driven astir 600 Mexicans to question refuge successful Guatemala this week.

He said, arsenic helium often has, that it's his governmental adversaries who are trying to marque Mexico's unit look to beryllium retired of control. But those cartels were already warring each different successful galore locations passim Mexico earlier Zambada's arrest.

Frank Pérez, a lawyer for Zambada, told The Associated Press that his lawsuit "did not travel to the U.S. voluntarily."

It appeared the sons of "El Chapo" Guzmán were someway successful connected the trap for Zambada, said José Reveles, writer of a fig of books astir the cartels. The alleged Chapitos, oregon Little Chapos, marque up a faction wrong the Sinaloa cartel that was often astatine likelihood with Zambada adjacent portion trafficking drugs.

Guzmán López, who was besides arrested Thursday, "is not his person nor his collaborator," Reveles said.

He is considered to beryllium the slightest influential of the 4 brothers who marque up the Chapitos, who are considered among the main exporters of the synthetic opioid fentanyl to the United States. Joaquín Guzmán López is present the 2nd of them to onshore successful U.S. custody. Their main of information was arrested by Mexican authorities successful November.

Guzmán López has been accused of being the cartel's nexus for importing the precursor chemicals utilized to marque fentanyl from Asia and for mounting up the labs that nutrient the drug, Reveles said.

Anne Milgram, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief, said that Zambada's apprehension "strikes astatine the bosom of the cartel that is liable for the bulk of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, sidesplitting Americans from seashore to coast."

During the existent Mexican administration, which ends Sept. 30, Mexico has been incapable to power the country's violence. López Obrador's determination to absorption connected alleviating what helium sees arsenic the basal causes of unit alternatively of head-on confrontation with the cartels has caused tensions with the U.S. authorities, successful peculiar the DEA.

Felbab-Brown said it has besides allowed the cartels to accumulate powerfulness that "is unprecedented successful Mexico's history."

Zambada could present connection reams of accusation astir the cartel's operations if helium decides to cooperate. He faces charges successful aggregate U.S. national courts.

He was the cartel's astir skilled cause of corruption and the astir influential trafficker who "has been moving extended corruption networks crossed galore administrations successful Mexico, crossed immense geographic spaces, from the apical of the Mexican authorities to municipal institutions," Felbab-Brown said.

"The astir important happening to ticker is however overmuch quality El Mayo volition present supply and however overmuch grounds successful speech for amended terms," she said.

Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press journalists Christopher Sherman, Alexis Triboulard and Martín Silva successful Mexico City contributed to this story.