The arrest of two high-ranking leaders of the Sinaloa cartel will soon be brought to court

CNN
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The surprise arrest of two central figures in the notorious Sinaloa cartel was accompanied by dramatic allegations of a power struggle at the highest levels, the betrayal of one co-founder by the son of another, and a secret flight that ended up in the custody of American authorities.

Now there is a legal wrangling.

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the cartel’s alleged co-founder, and Joaquin Guzmán López, the son of former boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, were arrested by U.S. authorities in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday on multiple charges for allegedly directing the criminal activities of one of the world’s most powerful and devastating drug trafficking organizations.

Zambada, 76, pleaded not guilty during his first appearance in federal court in El Paso Friday morning and is being held on seven charges, including continuing criminal conduct and money laundering. He also agreed to waive his right to appear in person and seek bail at a July 31 hearing.

“I don’t normally comment on my criminal cases,” his lawyer Frank Pérez told CNN. “However, I will say that my client did not come to the United States voluntarily.”

Guzmán López, 38, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Chicago on Tuesday, his attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told CNN. He had previously been indicted by a grand jury in Illinois on drug charges, money laundering and weapons possession, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice last year.

“I look forward to seeing Joaquin and working with him on the case,” Lichtman said in an email, adding that he will appear in court with Guzmán López.

The cartel, one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world, is believed to be responsible for smuggling large quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States. Anne Milgram, head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said the arrests were “a blow to the heart of the cartel responsible for the majority of the drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, that are killing Americans from coast to coast.”

Officials told CNN the arrest came after Guzmán López framed Zambada and staged her arrest. Zambada thought the two were flying to northern Mexico to look at properties, but instead their small private plane landed north of the border near El Paso, where U.S. authorities were waiting on the tarmac, officials said.

Zambada’s lawyer gave a different explanation. In a phone conversation and a statement sent to CNN on Sunday, Pérez said Zambada had been kidnapped.

“Joaquín Guzmán López kidnapped my client by force. He was attacked by six men in military uniforms and Joaquin, thrown to the ground and handcuffed. 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 runway. There, Joaquín forced him to board a plane. He tied his legs to the seat and took him to the United States against his will. The only people on the plane were the pilot, Joaquín and my client.”

Mexico’s president called on the United States to explain what exactly happened.

“The United States government must provide a full report. It cannot just be general statements,” said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday. “There must be transparency.”

A law enforcement source familiar with the situation told CNN that U.S. officials were hesitant to inform their Mexican counterparts in advance because they feared the operation might have been compromised. Details of the operation were kept top secret within the U.S. government until Zambada and Guzmán López were taken into custody, the source said.

The Mexican government did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the matter.

A brief history of the cartel and its leadership

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

The cartel is accused of playing a key role in the drug war that has shaken Mexico for years, claimed tens of thousands of lives and contributed to the ongoing high levels of violence throughout the country.

It is estimated that the cartel controlled about 40 to 60 percent of Mexico’s drug trade in the early 2010s, earning up to three billion dollars a year, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.

El Chapo was extradited to the United States in 2017 and convicted of continuing criminal activity, drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder. He is serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal prison.

Since then, experts believe the cartel has faced numerous challenges as it fractured into factions – some led by Zambada and Guzman’s sons – and rival cartels emerged.

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

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

“Ismael Mario Zambada Garcia is the longtime leader of the Zambada Garcia faction of the Sinaloa Cartel,” the U.S. State Department said. “Zambada Garcia is unique in that he spent his entire adult life as a major international drug trafficker, yet he has never spent a day in prison.”

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

“The Chapitos are accused of repeatedly and consistently transporting lethal quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl,” the Justice Department said last year.

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