MEXICO CITY — A longtime senior leader of the Sinaloa cartel, Ismael Zambada Garcia, or “El Mayo,” and a son of famed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman were taken into custody by U.S. authorities in Texas, according to senior Mexican and U.S. officials. It was a major blow to the Sinaloa federation, a global drug-trafficking syndicate that has sent tons of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and other drugs to the United States.
Zambada and the former drug lord’s son, also named Joaquin Guzman, turned themselves in, according to a former U.S. official with knowledge of the detentions. The younger Guzman is wanted on drug charges.
The news of Zambada’s arrest was first reported by the Reuters news agency.
Zambada was a partner of the elder Guzman’s, who was arrested in 2016 and convicted of multiple drug charges in the United States. He is serving a life sentence in a Colorado maximum-security prison. Unlike “El Chapo,” known for his girlfriends and flashy lifestyle, Zambada had kept a low profile. He is believed to be in his 70s.
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