Trending: U.S. Arrests Head of Infamous Sinaloa Drug Cartel, Scores Key Win In War on Drugs

A major step forward in the global crusade against drug trafficking and illicit finance took place last week as the leader of the notorious Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel was officially taken into custody by American authorities. Ismael Zambada Garcia, also known as “El Mayo”, is arguably the world’s most infamous drug kingpin and one of the world’s most wanted criminals. Long-wanted by international authorities for his role in propelling the global drug trade to its current state, he is also alleged to be the primary driver behind a multitude of other large-scale criminal exploits. United States FBI officials have alleged that Zambada Garcia, now 76, is responsible for directly overseeing the trafficking of tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the U.S. during his nearly three decade-long reign at the top of the world’s most notable drug ring. In addition, El Mayo is also believed to be a key figure behind hundreds of unsolved murders across Mexico and abroad, with his cartel also known for violent physical criminal activity.

Further compounding this landmark arrest was the fact that U.S. authorities were also able to apprehend another key player in the international drug trade – the son of Zambada’s former partner Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. With El Chapo currently serving a life sentence after being convicted on murder and drug-related charges in 2019, his son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, stepped in to fill the void. As such, the target was effectively shifted onto the back Guzman Lopez and that of his three brothers known collectively as “Los Chapitos.” One of Guzman Lopez’s brothers, Ovidio Guzman, was already arrested last year on drug charges and ultimately extradited to the U.S., and it now appears that a second Chapito will share a similar fate. Guzman Lopez now faces charges of funneling significant quantities of fentanyl and other drugs into the United States.

While the details behind how the arrests actually transpired remain scarce for the time being, U.S. authorities had been offering a $15 million reward for Zambada Garcia’s capture and $5 million for that of Guzman Lopez. Reuters writes however that it is believed that Guzman Lopez lured Zambada to the U.S., this according to three current and former U.S. officials familiar with the operation,² with the two wanted men ultimately arrested after arriving via private jet to the Santa Teresa airport near El Paso, Texas. Guzman Lopez’s attorney has since denied that a plea deal was in place with federal prosecutors prior to his arrest, which adds additional mystery to these developments.²

All told, the Sinaloa cartel has played a significant role in the fentanyl crisis plaguing the greater part of North America over the past decade. The lethal drug is estimated to kill approximately 70,000 Americans annually with no end in sight in spite of recent American efforts to curb this trend. “Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.¹ As a result, the United States Justice Department and other domestic law enforcement bodies have placed a premium on slowing cartel and affiliated criminal syndicate activity in recent years. Since 2021 alone, the U.S. has extradited over 50 cartel members from Mexico to the United States, while also charging tens of Chinese chemical companies and the executives behind them for providing precursor chemical materials to Mexican cartel agents to synthesize the drug. As Global RADAR has reported previously, Mexican cartels have formed an alliance with Chinese criminals who help produce these cruitical drug materials and also launder large amounts of cartel money, both posing significant risks to national security and the health of the global financial ecosystem.

To counter, the Biden Administration is building a global coalition utilizing partners from the United Nations’ Commission on Narcotic Drugs to better prevent the manufacturing of illicit drugs, while also detecting and mitigating emerging threats of this variety and subsequently disrupting trafficking and illicit financial channels on the global scale. The U.S. will also seek to improve the coordination and efficiency of its information-sharing processes between intelligence agencies and domestic law enforcement bodies to improve their ability to track illegal activity on the ground and boost seizure rates for both cash derived from drug trafficking, as well at the illicit drugs themselves, the goal being improved prosecution rates domestically and a reduction in fentanyl and other narcotics being trafficked to the States.  Further, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has continued to impose a number of economic sanctions on the key actors in this growing trend over the last year alone which has helped to limit their access to traditional financial services. “Combatting the threat posed by Money Laundering Organizations in China is a key priority of the Treasury Department, and today we are taking action to cut off the financial flows of major money launderers who are powering the trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs to the United States,”³ said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “Through our Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force, we will continue leveraging Treasury’s unique capabilities to disrupt the illicit fentanyl and drug trafficking trade that claims the lives of thousands of Americans each year.”³

With the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel and a growing number of key cogs in custody, the Mexican-Chinese money laundering connection may now be in jeopardy. El Mayo is known to be a calculating tactician who likely was the mastermind behind allying with Chinese Triads to begin with. Now that he is seemingly out of the picture, a power struggle may now engulf the Sinaloa cartel, much to the delight of the U.S. government. Regardless of the outcome, government authorities have landed a key blow against the illicit narcotics trade and money laundering efforts at America’s southern border.

Citations

1. “Fact Sheet: Justice Department Actions to Counter the Scourge of Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Drugs.” Office of Public Affairs | Fact Sheet: Justice Department Actions to Counter the Scourge of Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Drugs | United States Department of Justice, 31 July 2024. 
2. O’Brien, Brendan. “US Arrests Mexican Drug Lord ‘El Mayo’ and Son of ‘El Chapo’ in Texas | Reuters.” Reuters, 26 July 2024. 
3. “Treasury Sanctions Mexico- and China-Based Money Launderers Linked to the Sinaloa Cartel.” U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1 July 2024.