In 2016, feared Sinaloa Cartel founder Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, was arrested and later extradited to the United States where he was convicted in 2019 and is now serving a life sentence

After his incarceration some of his heirs dubbed Los Chapitos, [Little Chapos], took control of one-half of the Sinaloa Cartel drug cartel empire.

On Thursday one of those sons, Joaquín Guzmán López, 38, hopped on a small jet with fugitive cartel co-founder Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, 76, and set him up to be arrested in El Paso, Texas

Instead, of flying to Mexico city as planned, the aircraft changed its flight path and headed north into U.S. airspace before landing in El Paso, where US Federal agents were waiting

Both were arrested but Zambada appeared separately, in federal court in El Paso Friday morning and has entered a plea of not guilty to slew of drug trafficking charges

One of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s sons Joaquín Guzmán Lopez, [photo], part of the Sinaloa Cartel’s current leadership, surrendered to US authorities Thursday, in the process set up Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, who thought he was flying to Mexico City in search of property, instead landing in El Paso, Texas

As newsworthy as one of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s sons surrendering to US authorities after landing his private aircraft in El Paso, Texas might be.
The bigger news is that on Thursday, 38-year-old Joaquín Guzmán Lopez, part of the Sinaloa Cartel’s current leadership, in the process set up Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, 76, who thought he was flying to Mexico City in search of property, instead landing across the border in El Paso.
The speculation is that Joaquín Guzmán López apparently grew tired of living with a target on his back as a member of Los Chapitos, [Little Chapos], the clan of siblings who took control of one-half of the Sinaloa Cartel drug cartel empire after their father Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán was extradited back in 2016, and later extradited to the United States in 2017.
El Chapo Guzmán subsequently, was tried and convicted in 2019. He is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado.

Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada founded the Sinaloa Cartel along with Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, has never been arrested by Mexico authorities. He was arrested in El Paso, Texas on Thursday and appeared in federal court in El Paso Friday morning, facing a litany of indictments for crimes relating to drug trafficking and organized crime

On Thursday, Joaquín Guzmán Lopez found a one-way ticket out of the extravagant, but draining illicit lifestyle when he hopped on a small jet with fugitive cartel co-founder Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada and set him up to be arrested in El Paso, Texas.
Sources close to the Department of Justice confirmed that El Mayo joined Guzmán López on a flight to the Mexico City area to look ostensibly to scout potential properties for purchase.
According to the plan, mid-flight the aircraft changed its course, instead headed north into U.S. airspace before landing in El Paso, into the waiting arms of waiting US federal agents.
Zambada appeared in federal court in El Paso Friday morning and has entered a plea of not guilty to slew of drug trafficking charges, court records show.

The pair of Guzmán López, and El Mayo were arrested in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday, after disembarking from a private aircraft that was supposed to ferry El Mayo to the Mexico City area to view property he wanted to buy 

Joaquín Guzmán López, alongside his brother Ovidio Guzmán López, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York in 2018 for allegedly conspiring to distribute cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine into the United States.
Retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent and Chief of Operation, Ray Donovan, who helped take down El Chapo, remarks that it was a a smart move by Joaquín Guzmán López to turn himself in.
‘It means that it was to it was a highly intelligent move on his part. Here he is indicted by the US government. There’s a lot of violence in Mexico. Potentially, you know, change of administration with (President-elect Claudia) Sheinbaum in Mexico. Potentially, a change of administration in the United States,’ Donovan said.

Joaquín Guzmán López is seen being escorted after flying across the border into Texas and surrendering to U.S. federal agents

‘[There is] a lot of rhetoric going on,’ Donovan added.
‘It’s not a bad move if you’re him.’
‘You want you want a peaceful life, and you don’t want to be a part of this anymore? Then, you know, it’s actually a highly intelligent move on his part,’ Donovan said.
Donovan senses that following years on internal strife. the fear of being killed at any given moment inspired Joaquín Guzmán López to betray factional leader Zambada.
‘It’s too much pressure, it’s too much burden, and they fear death all the time,’ he said.
‘They fear being killed. Listen, even the top people fear being killed, as powerful as they are.’

Dreaded Sinaloa drug cartel founder Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán was captured in Mexico in 2016 and extradited in 2017, [center]. He was convicted on multiple drug trafficking charges by a New York federal court in 2019 and is serving a life sentence a super maximum security prison in Colorado

Zambada lived a simple life behind the scenes at his El Alamo compound, in contrast to El Chapo’s larger than life persona, and was suffering from diabetes. He has has led the Sinaloa Cartel’s day-to-day operations while battling diabetes since El Chapo Guzmán was arrested in 2016.
Donovan is familiar with the newly arrested cartel leader. Back in 2014, he was behind an operation to capture El Mayo, following El Chapo’s daring prison escape by tunneling his way out.
However, El Mayo managed to outsmart his pursuers: ‘We knew what was going on with him. We knew where he was and Mayo was smart,’ Donovan recalled.
‘He had intelligence that there was an operation and he ran to the mountains. While Chapo had intelligence too, he stayed in Culiacán. So, I always use that as somewhat of an indicator of how intelligent Mayo was.
‘Mayo was sharp and he didn’t stay around. He wasn’t bold. The older he got, the more business-like he became.’

Known for being cautious, Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, [photo], founded the Sinaloa Cartel along with Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán and had never been arrested back in Mexico. He is now awaiting trial in US courts. He has led the Sinaloa Cartel’s day-to-day operations while battling diabetes since El Chapo was arrested in 2017

Joaquín’s brother Ovidio Guzmán López who supposedly controls the Fentanyl side of the cartel’s drug trade, was also arrested in Mexico in September 2023 and extradited to US to face his own long list of charges 

Donovan said that it’s unlikely that El Chapo’s sons, Iván Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Guzmán Salazar, will follow their half brother’s steps and voluntarily surrender to U.S. authorities.
Of the four male offspring who grabbed a share of running the family business, Donovan says Joaquín Guzmán López is the ‘least culpable’, adding that he was just looking up to his brothers and got caught up in the family business.
‘Listen, Joaquin, did he deal with drugs? Yes,’ Donovan said.
‘But was he really the main (one)? No, he was never the main guy. He was more like a follower than a leader. Ovidio was the big producer of Fentanyl. Iván ran the cartel. (Jesús) had the contacts in Colombia.
‘He (Joaquín Guzmán López) had to weigh the pros and cons and I think that he made a smart decision. He wants a different life. This is it.’

Iván Guzmán Salazar [photo], one of El Chapo’s sons now leading one-half of the Sinaloa Cartel. The DEA is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction. Popular opinion is that following the recent arrests ‘Iván Guzman is going to consolidate power over the cartel’ 

The DEA is offering a $10 million reward for information that leads to the arrest and/or conviction of Jesús Guzmán Salazar

Donovan explained that the fact that Joaquín Guzmán López surrendered means that he had the intent of moving on from the cartel. Ovidio Guzmán López was apprehended in Mexico in September 2023, and is facing drug trafficking and money laundering charges in Chicago.
‘It is showing good faith to the government, right?’ he said. ‘it’s not a national self-surrender, it’s an international self-surrender, right? So good faith to the U.S., that’s one thing. Second thing is Mayo Zambada is apprehended. That is a big, big benefit. To me, I see it as a well-played move.’
Donovan sees Iván Guzmán Salazar joining forces with Zambada son, Ismael ‘El Mayito Flaco’ Zambada Sicairos, who is seen as not being bloodthirsty.
‘He’s not the type that’s gonna be bold and willing to battle and fight for control.
‘So my belief is that Iván Guzman is going to consolidate power over cartel,’ Donovan said.

El Mayo Zambada [left], as also indicted along with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, by a US federal grand jury in April 2012, in Texas, for allegedly being connected with the Sinaloa cartel.
They were charged with murder and conspiracy connected with drug trafficking, money laundering and organized crime.
Prior to that Guzman and Zambada had already been indicted on drug trafficking and organized crime charges in several US federal courts.
The 2012 indictment in Texas detailed two acts of violence federal prosecutors said were committed by members of the cartel.
One took place during a 2010 wedding ceremony in Ciudad Juarez, when an American citizen and two members of his family were kidnapped because of their ties with the rival Juarez cartel.
The target was the groom and a resident of Columbus, New Mexico.
Police found the bodies of the groom, his brother and his uncle three days after the wedding in the bed of a pickup truck, the indictment.
The groom’s body showed signs that he had been beaten and strangled.
His hands had been “severed above the wrists and placed on his chest,” according to the indictment.
Another incident detailed in the indictment related to the kidnapping, killing and mutilation of a Texas resident in 2009 “to answer for the loss of a 670-pound load of marijuana seized by the Border Patrol.”