One of the world’s biggest drug lords, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, has been arrested by US federal agents in El Paso, Texas.
Zambada, 76, founded the crime syndicate with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is currently jailed in the US.
Arrested with Zambada on Thursday was Guzman’s son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, said the US justice department.
In February, Zambada was charged by US prosecutors with a conspiracy to make and distribute fentanyl, a drug more powerful than heroin that has been blamed for the US opioid crisis.
In a written statement on Thursday evening, US Attorney General Merrick Garland noted that the two men lead “one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world”.
“El Mayo and Guzman Lopez join a growing list of Sinaloa Cartel leaders and associates who the Justice Department is holding accountable in the United States,” Mr Garland said.
American prosecutors say the Sinaloa cartel is the biggest supplier of drugs to the US.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had been offering a reward of up to $15m (£12m) for Zambada’s capture.
During Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s trial in 2019, his lawyers accused Zambada of bribing the “entire” Mexican government in exchange for living openly without fear of prosecution.
“In truth he controlled nothing,” Guzman’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, told jurors. “Mayo Zambada did.”
