The US justice department has arrested two leaders of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel, including the cartel’s co-founder, for leading deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks.
The attorney general, Merrick Garland, announced the charges against cartel leaders Ismael Zambada Garcia, known as “El Mayo”, one of the group’s co-founders, and Joaquin Guzman. Both men face several charges in the United States for allegedly leading the cartel’s criminal operations.
“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced,” said Garland on Thursday. “The justice department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable.”
The arrests were made in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday.
The charges are part of a crackdown on Sinaloa cartel leaders. Last year, the US justice department charged more than two dozen members of the Sinaloa cartel, including the sons of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, accusing them of supplying precursor chemicals required to make fentanyl.
The Sinaloa cartel, which operates around Sonoyta, a Mexican city along the border with Arizona, has smuggled millions of pounds of illegal drugs, millions of US dollars and weapons between the two countries, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice).
Zambada founded the Sinaloa cartel along with Guzman, and he faces several charges for crimes relating to drug trafficking and organized crime in the United States.
US federal prosecutors in February charged Zambada with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl.
The arrests come a month after the DoJ indicted two dozen people, accusing Chinese “underground bankers” of helping Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel launder over $50m in drug proceeds.
The investigation revealed a partnership between Sinaloa cartel associates and a Chinese criminal syndicate to launder drug money, exploiting Chinese nationals’ demand for US dollars.
Reuters contributed reporting