Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on Arrests of Alleged Leaders
In response to the arrests of Ismael Zambada Garcia (El Mayo) and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, the Justice Department issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland:
“The Justice Department has taken two more alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel into custody. The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the world's most powerful and violent drug trafficking organizations. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of the Cartel's other cofounder, and Ismael Zambada Garcia, also known as "El Mayo," were taken into custody today in El Paso, Texas.
In the United States, both men are facing multiple charges for leading the Cartel's criminal activities, including its networks of deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking.
El Mayo and Guzman Lopez are among a growing number of Sinaloa Cartel leaders and associates who are being held accountable in the United States by the Justice Department. This includes Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as "El Chapo," the other cofounder of the Cartel; Ovidio Guzman Lopez, another of El Chapo's sons and an alleged leader of the Cartel; and Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, also known as "El Nini," the Cartel's alleged lead sicario.
The Justice Department will not rest until every cartel leader, member, and associate accountable for poisoning our communities is held accountable because fentanyl is the most lethal drug threat our nation has ever faced.