Drug lord El Mayo’s ‘calm’ arrest dubbed a ‘Narco Game of Thrones cliffhanger’

Experts are “scratching their heads” after a major cartel kingpin was arrested last month.

Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS), was finally apprehended by US forces on July 26 after an epic manhunt that lasted decades.

The 76-year-old reportedly surrendered “calmly” to on-the-prowl FBI agents on a New Mexico airstrip, sparking rumours that he’d been cunningly lured across the border.

READ MORE: Sinaloa cartel boss ‘El Mayo’ gave chilling four-word promise about being arrested

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These came before a statement released days later by Zambada’s brief Frank Perez, who alleged his client was busted against his will. Bizarrely, Perez pointed the finger at the son of Zambada’s former associate Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, Joaquin Guzman Lopez.

The drug lord duo of El Mayo and Guzman Lopez both found themselves in cuffs after stepping off the unmarked plane in New Mexico, but what led the FBI to the notorious pair?

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star, cartel expert Dr Robert Bunker said: “The manner and intrigue behind the arrests were very much a blindside.

“Given the narrative spins on the incident, the political coinage it yields to both Mexican and US administrations, and the fallout potentials of igniting a CDS civil war, it feels like a ‘Narco’ Game of Thrones cliffhanger.”

Zambada could now be set to join El Chapo in jail, where the notorious CDS leader has rotted since 2019. El Chapo and Zambada co-founded the CDS in 1989, governing it to become the one of the most powerful drug-trafficking organisations in the world

Zambada and cohort Guzman Lopez stand accused of steering the cartels savage opioid factories and supply routes no charge more critical than their alleged part in the fentanyl crisis.

Attorney General Merrick Garland remarked: “Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable.”

Zambada, one of Mexico’s longest-surviving drug lords, was seen as the cartel’s strategist and more involved in daily operations than his notorious ex-partner El Chapo.

Zambada is a traditional capo in an era of younger kingpins known for their flashy lifestyles and brutal tactics such as beheading, dismembering and even skinning their rivals.

While Zambada has fought those who challenged him, he is known for focusing on the business side of trafficking and avoiding the gruesome cartel violence that would attract attention.

According to Mirror US, Zambada first faced indictment from the District of Columbia in late January 2003, followed by another from the Northern District of Illinois, which includes Chicago, in late August 2009.

By mid-April 2012, Zambada faced another indictment from the Western District of Texas. Over the next four years two more indictments were filed, one at the end of July 2014 from the Southern District of California, and another from the Eastern District of New York in mid-May 2016.

“All of the indictments involve a major violation of U.S. narcotics laws,” states a US Department’s release. However, the charge out of Chicago appears to be the most severe or at least the most likely to result in El Mayo’s conviction, due to his own son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, testifying against him.