Official: Drug lord Zambada arrested by being lured onto plane, believed to be going somewhere else

Ismael "El Majo" Zambada, the leader of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel who has eluded justice for decades, was arrested by being lured onto a plane that took him to the United States of America (USA) instead of his planned destination, where he was arrested together with his son Joaquin "El Chapa" Guzman, an American security official familiar with the case said today.

"El Majo" boarded the plane to America believing he was going somewhere else, said the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the case. At the same time, he did not provide additional information, so it is not known who convinced the leader of the drug cartel to get on the plane, nor is it known to which location "El Majo" thought he was traveling.

After the plane landed near El Paso, Texas, both Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez were immediately arrested and taken into custody, the official said.

Guzmán's father "El Chapo", also a drug cartel leader, was sentenced to life in prison in 2019.

Zambada "El Majo" is one of the most powerful drug lords in the world. He has been targeted for years by the US government, which aims to arrest the leaders of the Sinaloa drug cartel, responsible for smuggling huge amounts of drugs across the US-Mexico border.

The US authorities have offered a reward of 15 million dollars for information that would lead to Zambada's arrest.

Anne Milgram, head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, known as the DEA, said Zambada's arrest "strikes at the heart of the cartel responsible for most of the drugs - including fentanyl and methamphetamine - that kill Americans from coast to coast."

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced last night that "fentanyl is the deadliest drug to ever threaten our country, and the Department of Justice will not rest until every single cartel leader, cartel member, and accessory responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable."

Zambada's ex officio lawyer is not responding to press questions by email for the time being.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters today that he is still awaiting details of the arrest and that he is not involved in the operation.

Lopez Obrador praised the arrests but indicated that the positions of the two drug cartel leaders could soon be filled by others, so his administration, he said, is focused on the root of the problem that leads to drug use and related violence.

Mexican Security Secretary Rosa Isela Rodríguez said that the plane that took the leaders of Sinaloa to the United States took off from the airport in Hermosillo, Mexico, and that at that time only the pilot was still on board, and 30 minutes later, while flying over the mountains in the north of the country , it stopped broadcasting its altitude and speed data. Then he continued his journey towards the American border.

"The fact is that one person took off from here and three people arrived there," Rodriguez said.

Zambada, considered a Sinaloa strategist and one of Mexico's longest-serving capos, faces multiple indictments in the US, including New York and California. Prosecutors consider him "the preeminent leader of a criminal enterprise responsible for importing enormous amounts of narcotics into the United States."

This drug lord is of the old breed, different from younger generations of drug lords, known for their licentious lifestyle and brutal treatment of their victims and rivals, including beheadings, beheadings and flaying.

Although he has struggled with competition, Zambada is known for focusing on the business side of smuggling and avoiding attention-grabbing cartel violence.

He said he would rather kill himself than allow himself to be arrested, and he enjoyed the sympathy of locals in the Mexican state of Sinaloa and neighboring Durango because he was generous, sponsoring local farmers and giving money and beer in his hometown of El Alamo.