The arrest of two high-profile Sinaloa cartel leaders soon heads to the courtroom

Originally Published: 29 JUL 24 00:10 ET

By Polo Sandoval, Holmes Lybrand, Evan Perez and Eric Levenson, CNN

(CNN) — The stunning arrests of two central figures in the infamous Sinaloa cartel featured dramatic allegations of a high-level power struggle, the betrayal of one co-founder by another co-founder’s son and a secret flight ending in American law enforcement’s custody.

Now comes the legal wrangling.

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the cartel’s alleged co-founder, and Joaquin Guzmán López, son of former boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, were arrested Thursday by US authorities in El Paso, Texas. They face several charges for allegedly leading the criminal operations of what is considered to be one of the world’s most powerful and deadly drug trafficking operations.

Zambada, 76, pleaded not guilty to all charges at his first federal court appearance Friday morning in El Paso and is being held without bond on seven federal criminal counts, including continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering. He also agreed to waive his right to personally appear and to ask for bond at a hearing set for July 31.

“Typically, I do not comment on my criminal cases,” his attorney, Frank Pérez, told CNN. “However, I will say that my client did not come to the US voluntarily.”

Guzmán López, 38, is expected to appear in federal court Tuesday in Chicago, his attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, told CNN. He was previously indicted by a federal grand jury in Illinois on narcotics, money laundering and firearms charges, according to a statement last year from the US Justice Department.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Joaquin and working on the case with him,” Lichtman said in an email, adding he’d appear in court with Guzmán López.

The cartel, one of the world’s most powerful narcotics trafficking organizations, is thought to be responsible for the trafficking of vast amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States. US Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram said the arrests strike “at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast.”

Officials told CNN the arrest came after Guzmán López duped Zambada and orchestrated their arrest. Zambada thought the two were flying to northern Mexico to look at real estate, but instead, their small private plane landed north of the border near El Paso, where US authorities were waiting on the tarmac, officials said.

Zambada’s attorney offered a different explanation. In a phone conversation and a statement sent to CNN on Sunday, Pérez said Zambada was kidnapped.

“Joaquín Guzmán López forcibly kidnapped my client. He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquin. His legs were tied, and a black bag was placed over his head,” Pérez said in a statement.

“He was then thrown into the back of a pickup truck and taken to a landing strip. There, he was forced onto a plane, his legs tied to the seat by Joaquin, and brought to the US against his will. The only people on the plane were the pilot, Joaquín and my client.”

Mexico’s president has called on the US to explain what exactly happened.

“The government of the United States has to give a complete report. It can’t be just general statements,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday. “There has to be transparency.”

A law enforcement source familiar with the situation told CNN US officials were hesitant to brief Mexican counterparts in advance due to fears the operation could have been compromised. Details on the operation were also highly restricted within the US government until Zambada and Guzmán López were taken into custody, the source said.

The Mexican government has not responded to CNN’s request for comment on the matter.

A short history of the cartel and its leadership

The Sinaloa cartel was founded in the late 1980s and led by El Chapo, who twice escaped from Mexican prisons before being detained by Mexican authorities in 2016.

The cartel has been blamed for having a key role in the drug war that plagued Mexico for years, leaving tens of thousands of people dead, as well as contributing to the ongoing high levels of violence across the country.

In the early 2010s, estimates indicated the cartel controlled roughly 40% to 60% of Mexico’s drug trade, earning as much as $3 billion annually, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

El Chapo was extradited to the US in 2017 and convicted of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder. He is serving a life sentence in US federal prison.

Since then, experts believe the cartel has faced several challenges after breaking into factions – including some led by Zambada and Guzman’s sons – and with the rise of rival cartels.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said both Zambada and Guzmán López had “eluded law enforcement for decades.”

Zambada was indicted by a northern Illinois grand jury in 2009, according to the US State Department, and faces various criminal charges. In 2021, the US raised the reward for information leading to his arrest to $15 million.

“Ismael Mario Zambada Garcia is the long-time leader of the Zambada Garcia faction of the Sinaloa Cartel,” according to the US State Department. “Zambada Garcia is unique in that he has spent his entire adult life as a major international drug trafficker, yet he has never spent a day in jail.”

Meanwhile, Guzmán López is one of the “Chapitos,” a term for the powerful sons of former cartel boss El Chapo.

“The Chapitos are alleged to have repeatedly and consistently transported lethal amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl,” the Justice Department said last year.

Zambada’s son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, admitted during testimony at Guzman’s 2018 trial to passing along orders for murders and kidnappings. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2019 by a federal judge in Chicago. He began cooperating with the US government in 2011, prosecutors said in a May 2019 filing.

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