If “Mayo Zambada” surrendered, Mexican politicians must be very nervous, says analyst

The drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, was arrested by agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) of the United States at the Santa Teresa Airport in El Paso, Texas, and put at the disposition of the authorities of that country.

In light of the versions of an alleged surrender of the veteran drug trafficker, due to the fact that his capture occurred simultaneously with that of Joaquín Guzmán López, son of “El Chapo,” in the same city, some security analysts

Gerardo Rodríguez Sánchez Lara, professor of national security at the University of the Americas Puebla, considered that the capture or surrender of “El Mayo” represents in itself a success in the historical operations of the DEA.

Captured or surrendered as it was, it is the most important action of the DEA of this agency in its history after the operations to capture “El Chapo” Guzmán. If he was captured in the United States, it is a binational scandal because it confirms corruption in both countries. If he turned himself in, Mexican politicians must be very nervous about the possibility of collaboration

Zambada, 76, founded the Sinaloa Cartel with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, and faces a series of charges for crimes related to drug trafficking and organized crime in at least four US states, including Illinois.

US Department of Justice confirms capture of “El Mayo”
The United States Department of Justice confirmed the arrest of Ismael Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López, two important leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the largest criminal organizations in the world.

“The Department of Justice has arrested two additional alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world,” said Merrick Garland, US Secretary of Justice shortly after the news became a trending topic.

The department notes that both men “face multiple charges in the United States for leading the Cartel’s criminal operations, including its lethal fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks.”

The DEA offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his whereabouts.

In February, U.S. federal prosecutors charged Zambada with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, which U.S. officials say is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.

A New York prosecutor charged Zambada for the fifth time with the crimes of manufacturing and distributing fentanyl in the United States.

In addition, the Attorney General’s Office raised the reward from $5 to $15 million for anyone who provides information leading to Zambada’s arrest, information that can be sent to the Department of Justice by phone, email and even through social media.

The US Department of Justice has highlighted the capture of several leaders and associates of the Sinaloa Cartel, including Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, his son Ovidio Guzmán López, and the cartel’s alleged top hitman, Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, known as ‘El Nini’.

Ovidio Guzmán López has been identified as one of the current leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel. His capture adds to the efforts of the US and Mexican authorities to weaken the operations of this criminal group that has been a central component of drug trafficking to the United States.

El Chapo Guzmán was arrested in Mexico in January 2016, after two high-profile escapes in 2001 and 2015. He was subsequently extradited to the United States in January 2017, where in July 2019, he received a sentence of life imprisonment plus an additional 30 years.

Source: infobae