Who is El Chapo? What to know about the infamous drug lord amid son's arrest

A leader of one of Mexico's most powerful drug cartels and the son of notorious drug kingpin “El Chapo" were arrested by authorities in Texas shortly after landing in a private plane in the El Paso area, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ismael Zambada García, or "El Mayo," a longtime leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, has eluded capture for years, acting as the cartel’s relatively unassuming strategist, compared to the organization's headline-grabbing boss, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

El Chapo's son, Joaquín Guzmán López, lured Zambada to the U.S., according to three current and former U.S. officials familiar with the operation who sought anonymity to speak candidly about the events.

More: Mexican drug lord Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada and 'El Chapo' Guzman's son arrested in Texas

Guzmán López is one of four of the drug lord's children who have become key figures in the cartel over the last few years. Called Los Chapitos, or “the little Chapos,” the foursome are credited by U.S. authorities with rebuilding their father's international drug empire since his 2017 extradition and 2019 incarceration.

El Chapo's sons have denied these claims, including that they are one of the leading sources of fentanyl in the U.S., saying they have been persecuted due to their father's fame. They face extensive charges in indictments filed in multiple jurisdictions in the U.S., including million-dollar bounties for their capture.

One of the Chapitos' leaders, Ovidio Guzmán, was extradited to the U.S. in September after his arrest in Culiacán earlier in the year and is awaiting trial.

"El Chapo" Guzmán is one of the most well-known international criminals. He captured public attention over the past decades for not just his role leading the dangerous crime syndicate, but for two successful prison escapes from maximum-security prisons in Mexico, once by digging a mile-long tunnel from his cell.

The Sinaloa Cartel is considered to be the "largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere," according to the non-profit think tank InSight Crime. Although the cartel is largely involved in drug trafficking, some factions also deal drugs and tax other criminal networks, including human traffickers.

El Chapo — "Shorty" for his small stature of 5-foot-6 — was first captured in Guatemala in 1993. He was extradited to Mexico and was serving a 20-year sentence on drug trafficking charges when he completed his first vanishing act in 2001, spending about $2.5 million in bribes and other costs to ensure his escape.

More: Mexican cartels boast of increased lethal firepower, including some weapons from the U.S.

He was recaptured at a Mexican beach resort more than a decade later, in February 2014 and transferred to a different Mexican prison. The convicted criminal disappeared from the prison's shower in July 2015, slipping through a mile-long tunnel. A second manhunt ensued.

A few months after his escape, in October 2015, Guzmán met with Mexican actress Kate del Castillo and American actor Sean Penn in one of his hideouts for an interview later published in Rolling Stone Magazine. In the controversial article, the drug kingpin acknowledged his role in the Sinaloa Cartel. Roughly three months after that meeting, El Chapo was arrested by Mexican authorities for the third time, and later extradited to the U.S.

A federal judge in Brooklyn sentenced Guzmán to life in prison, plus 30 years in 2019 for trafficking tons of cocaine, heroin and other drugs into the U.S. as the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. In his trial, prosecutors said he amassed power through murders and wars with rival cartels, and co-conspirators testified that Guzmán orchestrated kidnappings, torture and murders of rival drug organizations through his network of hitmen, and at times carried out these acts of violence himself.

Though El Chapo remains behind bars in a "supermax" prison in Colorado, the Sinaloa Cartel continues to operate.

More: Poisons in paradise: How Mexican cartels target Hawaii with meth, fentanyl

In a statement Thursday on the arrest of cartel co-founder and leader Zambada García and El Chapo's son, Guzmán López, Drug Enforcement Administration officials painted the pair as critical leaders of the organization's drug trafficking.

The arrest "strikes at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast," DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said. "El Mayo is one of DEA’s most wanted fugitives and he is in custody tonight and will soon face justice in a U.S. court of law. Joaquin Guzmán López, another alleged leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, and the son of ‘El Chapo,’ was also arrested today - his arrest is another enormous blow to the Sinaloa Cartel."

Reuters, USA Today's Thao Nguyen and John Bacon contributed to this report.

Kathryn Palmer is an elections fellow for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @KathrynPlmr.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Who is El Chapo? Authorities arrest the infamous drug lord's son