MEXICO CITY, July 25 – Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the co-founder of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel, is in U.S. custody, two sources familiar with the operation told Reuters on Thursday.
Zambada founded the Sinaloa Cartel along with now-jailed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, and he faces a litany of indictments for crimes relating to drug trafficking and organized crime in the United States.
U.S. federal prosecutors in February charged Zambada with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, which U.S. officials say is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.