Mexico's Minister of Public Security, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, said today that she has asked the United States to clarify whether the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel have been captured or have chosen to surrender to the Texas authorities.
Icela Rodriguez clarified today that the Mexican government "had nothing to do" with the arrest of Israel 'El Mayo' Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán, son of the "boss of bosses" Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, in an operation in El Paso (Texas), although she indicated that the US embassy in Mexico kept the authorities permanently informed about the incident.
"Yesterday [Thursday] at 3:30 pm, a phone call was received from the US embassy in Mexico informing them that both were under arrest in El Paso. A second phone call, at 3:45 pm, confirmed the identity of the two people", said the security chief at a press conference.
The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, was informed of the arrests at 4:14 pm, less than an hour after the first call.
The leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel for decades, alongside Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, Zambada was known for running the cartel's smuggling operations, although he kept a low profile.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has offered a reward of up to $15 million (13.8 million euros) for information leading to Zambada's capture.
"The Department of Justice has in custody two additional alleged leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
The authorities said the arrest took place in El Paso, Texas, in the southern United States.
Zamada's capture follows the arrests of other figures in the Sinaloa cartel.
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