previous law enforcement officers involved in the decadeslong hunt for Zambada say his arrest Thursday is as monumental as the 2016 seize of "El Chapo" Guzman given his function because the ismael el mayo zambada donde esta chief strategic thinker of what is universally looked upon as the entire world’s strongest structured crime Group.
Guzmán’s arrest adopted a notorious 2019 incident by which he was briefly detained at a house during the northern Mexican metropolis of Culiacan, but was later on launched immediately after cartel gunmen flooded town and held civilians hostage. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ordered Guzmán unveiled in order to avoid extra bloodshed.
the looks in Federal District Court in El Paso for an Original hearing was routine like a lawful matter, but Additionally, it represented a consequential second in the background on the drug war.
past 7 days, that vocation was Minimize short when Mr. Zambada García, that is seventy six and often known as El Mayo, was lured from considered one of his mountain disguise-outs to your Mexican metropolis of Culiacán, which has extensive served like a stronghold for that Sinaloa cartel.
among his attorneys, Frank Perez, Formerly has alleged his shopper was kidnapped by Guzmán López and introduced on the U.S. aboard A non-public plane. Guzmán López, 38, pleaded not responsible Tuesday to drug trafficking and other costs in federal courtroom in Chicago. linked protection
In spite of his long felony heritage, the U.S. anti-narcotics company mentioned one thing distinctive about Mayo Zambada. “He has put in his total Grownup lifetime as An important Global drug trafficker, but he hasn't spent a day in jail,” the Business notes over the site supplying a multimillion-dollar reward to anybody who presents information and facts resulting in his capture.
one of the most valuable trade now is fentanyl, Considerably of it pressed into capsules at significant-scale operations south on the border involving Qualified chemists.
certainly one of his best allies and fellow Sinaloa co-founder, Joaquin Guzmán Loera, often called "El Chapo," was convicted in federal courtroom in 2019 following staying extradited by Mexican authorities and sentenced to lifestyle in prison.
Zambada is accused of using folks to obtain "transportation routes and warehouses" to distribute the illicit drugs while in the U.S., along with strike Adult men tasked with carrying out kidnappings and killings in Mexico "to retaliate in opposition to rivals who threatened the cartel."
The operation was planned for months. having said that, some reports say there was also an opportunistic element to it. When the assorted elements driving the ruse appeared to be coming collectively, Regardless of some scepticism Among the many US authorities, they ultimately made the decision that they had absolutely nothing shed by making an attempt it.
within the letter acquired by CBS News, Zambada wrote there were "numerous inaccurate reviews" and He'll offer the "genuine facts" from that day. He claimed he wanted Everybody to be aware of in the outset he didn't convert himself in, have an agreement or come voluntarily.
Guzmán López evidently were in negotiations with U.S. authorities for a very long time about possibly turning himself in. Guzmán López, 38, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking along with other fees in federal court docket in Chicago.
“The working day will arrive when It's going to be our prosecutor’s Workplace — rather than the American a single — who will bring the large bosses of the state to justice so they purchase the many lives they've stolen,” Lilian Chapa Koloffon, a Mexican protection analyst, wrote on X.
The implication is always that Guzmán López intended to flip himself in, and brought Zambada with him to procure additional favorable treatment method, but his motives remain unclear.