SHBA arreston dy kokat e trafikut të drogës, mes tyre një prej djemve të “El Chapos” smael

2024-07-26 19:45:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

SHBA arreston dy kokat e trafikut të drogës, mes tyre një prej

Zambada, longtime leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, and Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of another notorious drug cartel leader, were arrested by US authorities in Texas on Thursday, the US Department of Justice said.

A leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel for decades alongside Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, Zambada is one of the world's most notorious drug traffickers and known for running smuggling operations.

A Mexican federal official told the Associated Press news agency that Zambada and Guzmán López arrived in the United States on a private plane and turned themselves in to authorities. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

The US government had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of Zambada, who eluded authorities for decades.

Zambada and Guzmán López oversaw the trafficking of "tens of thousands of kilograms of drugs into the United States, along with the violent acts associated with this operation," FBI Director Christopher Wray said, adding that they will now "face justice in the United States".

"Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Department of Justice will not rest until every cartel leader, member and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable," the U.S. Attorney said in a statement. General Merrick Garland.

Mexican authorities did not immediately comment on their arrests.

US officials have sought Zambada's arrest for years, and he has been charged in a number of cases in the United States. He was charged in February in the Eastern District of New York with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute synthetic opioids. Prosecutors said he continued to lead the Sinaloa cartel, "one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world."

Zambada, one of Mexico's longest-serving traffickers, was seen as the cartel's strategist, less pompous and more involved in day-to-day operations than its best-known boss, "El Chapo" Guzmán, who was sentenced to life in prison in the United States in 2019 and is the father of Guzmán López.

Zambada is an old-style trafficker in an era of younger kingpins known for their flamboyant club lifestyles and brutal tactics of beheading, dismembering and even skinning their rivals. While Zambada has fought those who have challenged him, he is known for focusing on the business side of trafficking and avoiding the gruesome cartel violence that would attract attention.

In an interview in April 2010 with the Mexican magazine "Proceso", he admitted that he lived in constant fear of imprisonment and that he would consider suicide if arrested.

"I fear imprisonment," Zambada said. "I would consider killing myself if I was arrested."

The interview was surprising for a known drug trafficker, but he gave strict instructions on where and when to meet the reporter for the interview, and the article gave no clue as to his whereabouts.

Zambada apparently won the loyalty of locals in his home state of Sinaloa and neighboring Durango through his generosity, sponsoring local farmers and distributing money and beer in his hometown of El Alamo.

Although little is known about Zambada's early life, he is believed to have started working with drug traffickers in the 1970s.

In the early 1990s, he was a key leader in the Juarez cartel, transporting tons of cocaine and marijuana.

Zambada began to gain the trust of Colombian traffickers, who helped him rise to the top in the cartel world of ever-changing alliances. Eventually he became so powerful that he broke away from the Juarez cartel, but still managed to maintain strong ties with the gang and avoided a turf war. He also developed a partnership with the trafficker "El Chapo" Guzman, which would propel him to the top of the Sinaloa cartel.

Zambada's arrest follows several high-profile arrests of other Sinaloa cartel figures, including one of his sons and another son of "El Chapo" Guzmán, Ovidio Guzmán López. Zambada's son pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego in 2021 to charges that he was one of the leaders of the Sinaloa cartel.

In recent years, the sons of the trafficker Guzman have led a faction of the cartel known as "Little Chapitos", which has been identified as the main exporter of fentanyl to the US market.

They were seen as more violent and with a more pompous style than Zambada. Their security chief was arrested by Mexican authorities in November.

Ovidio Guzmán López was arrested and extradited to the United States last year. He pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges in Chicago in September.

Mike Vigil, the former head of international operations for the US drug agency DEA, said Zambada's arrest is significant but unlikely to have much of an impact on the flow of drugs into the United States. Joaquín Guzmán López was the least influential of the four sons who run the Chapitos cartel.

"This is a victory for justice, but I don't think it will have an impact on drug cartel operations," Mr. Vigil said.

"It won't have an impact on the drug trade because someone from within the cartel will replace him," he added./ Voa