EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — KTSM has obtained exclusive video showing the apparent arrests of two suspected Sinaloa cartel drug lords in Southern New Mexico on Thursday, July 26.
The exclusive video shows an airplane landing and taxiing at the Dona Ana County International Jetport.
Law enforcement was on the ground waiting for the plane’s arrival and two men were arrested — first one and then minutes later the second.
The U.S. Justice Department announced that suspected Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the co-founder of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel, and the reported son of incarcerated drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman were arrested in the El Paso area on Thursday.
The second man arrested was identified as Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who allegedly led the Chapitos faction of the cartel that is reportedly spearheaded by “El Chapo’s” sons.
Zambada was scheduled for an initial court appearance at the El Paso Magistrate Courtroom Friday morning, July 26, according to court records.
Zambada’s attorney filed a waiver of appearance and entered a “not guilty” plea on behalf of his client, according to court documents obtained by KTSM and Border Report.
Guzman Lopez arrived in the custody of the FBI HSI and DEA agents in the Chicago area Friday morning, according to an NBC affiliate.
The U.S. Justice Department said that both men are “facing multiple charges in the United States for leading the Cartel’s criminal operations, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks.”
The Justice Department also said about the arrests:
“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. That includes the Cartel’s other cofounder, Joaquin Guzman Loera, or ‘El Chapo’; another of El Chapo’s sons and an alleged Cartel leader, Ovidio Guzman Lopez; and the Cartel’s alleged lead sicario, Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, or ‘El Nini.’
“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable.”
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