The head of one of the world's largest and most active cartels, the Sinaloa, has been arrested and is in the hands of U.S. authorities, foreign media reported.
Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the Mexican drug lord and co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, reportedly has given up his own life and is under arrest in the state of Texas.
It is the first time El Mayo has fallen into the hands of authorities since it was announced many years ago, listed among Mexico's 37 most wanted drug lords.
The FBI had him on the most wanted list, and for "his head" had placed a $15 million reward.
Who is Ismael Mario Zambada García, known by the pseudonym "El Mayo"
Born in Sinaloa, Mexico, Zambada began his illegal drug career as a teenager when he worked closely with the Juárez and Carrillo cartels, while also keeping in touch with cocaine suppliers from Colombia.
In 1989 his organization was split into two parts after the arrest of the then leader, in the Tijuana cartel where his nephews were, and in the Sinaloa cartel that was led by him, Héctor Luis Palma Salazar and Joaquín Guzmán Loera (El Chapo).
In 2006, when Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched the biggest offensive on drug cartels, the most pressure fell on the Tijuana cartel. El Mayo and El Chapo took the opportunity to strike at tijuana cartel branches as they expanded sinaloa cartel territory to northern Mexico, causing the country to plunge into total war.
In 2011, Zambada allegedly performed a plastic surgery completely altering his appearance. He took full control of the Sinaloa cartel in 2016, when "El Chapo" was arrested.
Zambada is the father of at least 8 children, four sons and four daughters.
The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the largest cocaine tafik and money laundering syndicates worldwide. The cartel has since the 1980s moved hundreds of thousands of tons of cocaine to the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world through aircraft, ships, submarines and tunnels.
By 2021, Sinaloa has been in alliance with gulf cartel, but is already at war with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Sinaloa has links to mafia organizations in many countries around the world, including Albania, where it has been linked to money laundering operations.