News Desk

The Advocate Post: Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, a notorious figure in the drug war, isknown for his influential role in the world’s most powerful drug cartel. As the last of the original cartel leaders, he co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman after the Guadalajara Cartel’s collapse in 1989. Unlike El Chapo, who was captured and escaped twice, El Mayo evaded capture for 35 years. This streak ended with his arrest in El Paso, Texas, where he pleaded not guilty to multiple federal charges.

El Mayo was drawn to the U.S. in an intricate sting operation orchestrated by Joaquin Guzman Lopez, El Chapo’s son. Guzman Lopez, arrested alongside Zambada, convinced him he was inspecting potential sites for clandestine airstrips in northern Mexico. In a rare 2010 interview, Zambada admitted to journalist Julio Scherer García that the thought of imprisonment terrified him, suggesting he might take his own life if captured. However, when the moment came, he neither had the means nor the opportunity to do so.

Remarkably cautious throughout his life, it is surprising that Zambada was caught at the age of 76. Mike Vigil, a former DEA agent, noted Zambada’s poor health and intense fear of imprisonment likely influenced his resistance to capture. The arrests and potential plea deal between El Chapo’s sons, known as Los Chapitos, and the U.S. government raise questions about the future leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel.