The News
US officials arrested two top leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world’s biggest traffickers of fentanyl and cocaine.
Ismael Zambada García, also known as El Mayo, and the son of his long-time associate, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán were detained shortly after landing in Texas, part of a sting operation set up by the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
Mexican authorities said Friday that they were not informed of the operation until after arrests, with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador only finding out six hours after the two men were detained.
The arrests are “a major coup for U.S. authorities that may also reshape the Mexican criminal landscape,” Reuters wrote; El Mayo had been on the US’ most-wanted list for decades. However, experts believe it will do little to stem the flow of drugs across the border: It takes just $3,600 and a web browser to set up a lab capable of producing $3 million worth of fentanyl.
