Last week, U.S. officials arrested Ismael Zambada Garcia, a founder of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel based in Mexico. After initial reports suggested that Zambada Garcia was lured by the son of the drug lord known as El Chapo onto a plane and flown across the border to the U.S., new reporting suggests that Zambada Garcia was in fact ambushed and abducted in Mexico and taken onto the plane by force. (New York Times)
Our Take
The evolving narrative of how Zambada Garcia ended up in U.S. custody may seem inconsequential. Either way, a godfather of Mexico’s most prominent drug cartel has now been arrested, and how he ended up in custody is not necessarily legally relevant. But it does have wide-ranging ramifications for both Mexico and the United States.
First, Zambada Garcia’s arrest leaves a sudden leadership vacuum within the Sinaloa Cartel, with the potential for a violent battle for succession as well as heightened conflict with other cartels seeking to encroach on its operations at a moment of perceived weakness.