El Paso – Sinaloa cartel leader Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada made his first appearance in U.S. federal court Friday and pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering, and other charges related to running a criminal enterprise. Zambada is being held without bond.
He was taken into custody at a small regional airport near El Paso Thursday along with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of convicted former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin Guzman Loera known as “El Chapo.” Guzman Lopez did not appear in federal court.
The two men were arrested at the Santa Teresa, New Mexico airport, just across the state line from El Paso. It’s not clear if the suspects surrendered or were surprised by federal law enforcement waiting at the airport when the plane landed.
President Biden applauded the arrests and credited the work of U.S. law enforcement officials for bringing Sinaloa cartel leaders to justice. "Too many of our citizens have lost their lives to the scourge of fentanyl. Too many families have been broken and are suffering because of this destructive drug.”
U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement issued after the arrests, “El Mayo and Guzman Lopez join a growing list of Sinaloa Cartel leaders and associates who the Justice Department is holding accountable in the United States.”.
Zambada, 76, had evaded arrest for decades as the U.S. government offered a $15 million dollar reward for information leading to his capture. He along with “Chapo” Guzman founded the Sinaloa cartel more than 30 years ago.
“He was the OG of OGs, a shrewd businessman, quiet. He wasn’t like Chapo, flamboyant. He liked to be in the background. He liked to be the big thinker,” said Alfredo Corchado, executive editor and correspondent for Puente News Collaborative and author of Midnight in Mexico, which details the rise of Mexico’s organized crime groups.
The power vacuum created by the long-time leader’s departure is likely to lead to more violence in territory and smuggling routes presided over by the Sinaloa cartel including some border states.
“Places where the Sinaloa Cartel is in firm control of, places where they’re fighting the Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel, that’s where we will see some bloody battles in the days and weeks to come,” Corchado said. “The trafficking of illicit drugs from Mexico to the U.S. won’t end as long as you have an insatiable U.S. demand.”
Zambada was in charge of lucrative fentanyl manufacturing and trade for the cartel according to U.S. authorities.
Mexico’s Secretary of Public Security Rosa Icela Rodriguez at a press conference Friday said Mexico did not “participate in that detention or surrender.” but added, “We’ll continue collaborating with the United States as we have done up to this occasion.”
Note: Alfredo Corchado is married to KTEP News Director Angela Kocherga.