Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, were arrested at a small airport in New Mexico after being tricked into a plane ride by Guzman Lopez. Zambada’s arrest, seen as monumental given his role as the chief strategic thinker of the Sinaloa Cartel, is believed to be a result of the cartel’s involvement in flooding the U.S. with deadly fentanyl over the past decade. Zambada was forcibly kidnapped and brought to the U.S. against his will by Guzman Lopez as part of a deal to negotiate a better plea agreement for himself. The arrest has caused reverberations across the border and deep into Mexico. Zambada, known as the brains behind the Sinaloa Cartel’s rise and the American fentanyl crisis, was responsible for the business growth of the organization while El Chapo was the more violent face. The capture of Guzman Lopez and Zambada is likely to lead to a bloody power struggle within the cartel. U.S. law enforcement ramped up efforts to neutralize the Sinaloa Cartel responsible for the fentanyl crisis, with a focus on insider cooperation leading to the capture of individuals like Zambada’s son and the Chapitos. Zambada’s arrest is a significant milestone in the decades-long hunt for the notorious drug kingpin.
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