Previously unpublished photographs by photojournalist Luis Chaparro, taken on July 25, 2024, capture the moments surrounding the arrest of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada after his arrival in the United States alongside Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and one of the leaders of the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The images document the operation that culminated in the arrest of both men at an airport in the El Paso, Texas, area, an event that marked a turning point in the history of the criminal organization.
The photographs show the exact moment U.S. authorities took both alleged drug traffickers into custody amid a heavy security presence.
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The release of these images provides a new visual perspective on one of the most significant episodes in the fight against drug trafficking and on an operation whose official account and surrounding circumstances remain under scrutiny in both Mexico and the United States.
Background: From the outset, Zambada's arrest was surrounded by conflicting accounts. While the U.S. government stated that Joaquín Guzmán López voluntarily surrendered to authorities, the longtime Sinaloa Cartel leader maintained that he had been kidnapped and taken to U.S. territory against his will.
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According to a reconstruction published by La Silla Rota, based on court documents filed in a federal court in Illinois, Zambada went to a meeting on July 25, 2024, at a ranch in the Huertos del Pedregal neighborhood of Culiacán under the pretense of mediating an internal dispute. Upon entering the property, he was allegedly ambushed by armed men, restrained, immobilized, and later transported to a clandestine airstrip.
According to that account, Joaquín Guzmán López orchestrated the entire operation to remove Zambada from Mexico. After being subdued, the cartel leader was flown aboard a private aircraft to El Paso, Texas, where U.S. federal agents were already waiting for his arrival. Guzmán López was on the same flight and surrendered to authorities as part of the arrangement.
The arrest triggered a deep rift within the Sinaloa Cartel. The Los Chapitos faction and operatives loyal to El Mayo intensified their confrontation, fueling an escalation of violence across the state of Sinaloa that, according to authorities and investigative reporting, evolved into an internal war for control of the criminal organization.
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