Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on Arrests of Alleged Leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel Ismael Zambada Garcia (El Mayo) and Joaquin Guzman Lopez

The Justice Department issued the following statement by the Attorney General Merrick B. Garland about the detention of alleged leaders of Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael Zambada Garcia (El Mayo) and Joaquin Guzman Lopez:

The Justice Department issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the arrests of alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael Zambada Garcia (El Mayo) and Joaquin Guzman Lopez:

“The Justice Department has taken into custody two more suspects of being top leaders from the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most powerful and violent drug trafficking groups worldwide. Ismael Zambada Garcia or “El Mayo,” cofounder of the Cartel as well as Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of the other cofounder, were taken into custody this morning on the streets of El Paso, Texas.

The two men are both facing a variety of accusations throughout the United States for leading the Cartel’s criminal activities, including its fentanyl-based manufacturing that is deadly as well as trafficking network.

El Mayo and Guzman Lopez add to the growing list of Sinaloa Cartel leaders and associates whom are being held accountable by the Justice Department is holding accountable in the United States. The list includes the Cartel’s second co-founder, Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as “El Chapo”; another of the sons of El Chapo and an unnamed Cartel head, Ovidio Guzman Lopez; and the Cartel’s chief sicario Nestor Isidro Perez Salas or “El Nini.”

Fentanyl is the most deadly drug our nation has ever encountered which is why it is a threat that the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel’s leader, member, or associate who has been responsible for contaminating our communities is held accountable.”