On July 25, 2024, the United States Justice Department announced that it had taken two powerful drug cartel leaders into custody. After a years-long hunt, the DOJ has finally captured Joaquin Guzman Lopez (El Chapo’s son). Guzman wasn’t alone, as an even bigger name was taken into custody: Ismael Zambada Garcia (El Mayo). Zambada is one of the most prolific drug traffickers in all of Mexico, as he co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with “El Chapo.” The arrests took place in El Paso, Texas, shortly after a private jet carrying the two of them landed.
“El Mayo and Guzman Lopez join a growing list of Sinaloa Cartel leaders and associates who the Justice Department is holding accountable in the United States. That includes the Cartel’s other cofounder, Joaquin Guzman Loera, or El Chapo; another of El Chapo’s sons and an alleged Cartel leader, Ovidio Guzman Lopez; and the Cartel’s alleged lead sicario, Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, or El Nini,” the DOJ said in a statement.
The Sinaloa Cartel is responsible for trafficking a significant amount of the fentanyl that makes its way into the United States. Roughly 136 people die every day in this country from an opioid overdose, and a very large percentage of that can be attributed to fentanyl. Hopefully, these DOJ arrests can make some kind of dent in the opioid crisis that continues to grip the United States.
Sources:
News, B. (2024, July 26). Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada: Mexican drug lord arrested in US. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4ng4g31x1wo
(2024, July 25). Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on Arrests of Alleged Leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel Ismael Zambada Garcia (El Mayo) and Joaquin Guzman Lopez. United States Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-statement-arrests-alleged-leaders-sinaloa-cartel-ismael
Reuters.Com. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexican-drug-lord-el-mayo-is-us-custody-sources-say-2024-07-25/
(2024, July 25). Nytimes.Com. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/world/americas/mexico-cartel-ismael-zambada-garcia-joaquin-guzman-lopez.html
Facts About Fentanyl. https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl
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