US arrests two Mexican drug cartel leaders

Mexican drug kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and the son of his ex-partner, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, were arrested on Thursday in El Paso, Texas, in a major coup for US authorities that may also reshape the Mexican criminal landscape.

Zambada is one of the most consequential traffickers in Mexico's history and co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with El Chapo, who was extradited to the United States in 2017 and is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison.

Both Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of El Chapo, face multiple charges in the US for funneling huge quantities of drugs to US streets, including fentanyl, which has surged to become the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.

Zambada, who is believed to be in his 70s, and Guzman Lopez, who is in his 30s, were detained after landing in a private plane in the El Paso area, two US officials told Reuters.

Guzman Lopez is one of four sons of El Chapo -- known as Los Chapitos, or Little Chapos -- who inherited their father's faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. His brother, Ovidio Guzman, was arrested last year and extradited to the United States.

In recent years, the Sinaloa Cartel has become the biggest target for US authorities, who have accused the crime syndicate of being the biggest supplier of fentanyl to the United States. 

Zambada and Guzman Lopez face multiple charges in the US "for heading the Cartel’s criminal operations, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

The arrest of Guzman Lopez was first reported by Reuters, ahead of the Justice Department statement where it was confirmed they were detained in El Paso.

One worker at the Santa Teresa airport, near El Paso, on Thursday afternoon, told Reuters that he saw a Beechcraft King Air land on the runway, where federal agents were already waiting.

"Two individuals got off the plane… and were calmly taken into custody," said the man, who declined to share his name out of concern for his safety.

"It seemed like a pretty calm, arranged thing," he added.

The US authorities had a $15 million reward for Zambada's capture, while Guzman Lopez had a $5 million bounty on his head.

The Sinaloa cartel traffics drugs to more than 50 countries around the globe and is one of two most powerful organized crime groups in Mexico, according to US authorities.

Reuters