What we know about the Sinaloa cartel and its leaders

The arrests of two top alleged leaders of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel are an “enormous blow” to the group accused of being responsible for most drugs “killing Americans from coast to coast”, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration says.

The arrests of two top alleged leaders of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel are an “enormous blow” to the group accused of being responsible for most drugs “killing Americans from coast to coast”, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration says. Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the cartel’s alleged co-founder, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of former boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, were arrested Thursday by US authorities in El Paso, Texas. They face several charges for allegedly leading the criminal operations of what is considered one of world’s most powerful and deadly drug trafficking operations. Here’s what we know about the Sinaloa cartel’s decades-long operations, impact and key players: The Sinaloa cartel, named after the Mexican state where it was formed, is one of the oldest and most established drug trafficking groups in Mexico. It has long supplied much of the marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl peddled on US streets, according to a Congressional Research Service report. In the early 2010s, estimates indicated the cartel controlled roughly 40% to 60% of Mexico’s drug trade, earning as much as $3 billion annually, the CRS report said.