Two top leaders of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel were arrested in Texas by US federal agents after apparently being tricked into flying there from Mexico. One of them, 76-year-old Ismael Zambada García, is described by the BBC as "arguably the biggest drug lord in the world." "El Mayo," as he's known, co-founded the cartel with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in the 1980s and was believed by some to be the true leader of the criminal organization. The second, Joaquín Guzmán López, is the son of El Chapo, who has been in US custody since 2017 and was sentenced to life in prison in 2019. The US government has been pursuing El Mayo for years, and the federal indictments in which he's charged date back more than 20 years, the New York Times reports.
The Times says the two drug traffickers "command massive transnational cocaine and fentanyl businesses." In a statement following their arrests, Attorney General Merrick Garland called fentanyl, a synthetic opioid more powerful than heroin, "the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced." He said the Department of Justice "will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable." Sources tell the Wall Street Journal a high-ranking member of the cartel tricked Zambada García and Guzmán López into getting on a plane under the guise of inspecting clandestine Mexican airfields, but they were instead flown to Texas and arrested upon landing. (More Sinaloa drug cartel stories.)
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