Cross-border sting nets arrest of Sinaloa Cartel members

Sinaloa Cartel scouts operate in teams deep into US territory and use sophisticated communications equipment to lead a network of smugglers and their loads into the USA, often dispatching SUV’s full of armed men to teach brutal lessons to anyone who violates their turf-on US soil.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said: “Due its the sensitive nature, this operation was conducted with utmost secrecy to maintain the element of surprise and to ensure the safety of the Mexican law enforcement officers executing it”.

Members of the Sinaloa Cartel have been arrested after a cross-border raid on January 29 near Sonoyta, Sonora and Lukeville, Arizona.

The operation, which took place Friday, occurred between the bordering cities of Lukesville, Arizona, and Sonoyta, Mexico.

The operation targeted “high level members of the Sinaloa cartel”, which has been responsible for the illegal importation of “millions of pounds of illegal drugs”, Christensen said.

The Mexican authorities said that they had seized packets containing roughly 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of what appeared to be marijuana, as well as 18 firearms – 15 assault rifles and three handguns – and an assortment of cartridges. She added: “The organisation is also responsible for smuggling of millions of dollars in USA currency, along with weapons, into Mexico”. El Chapo’s arrest came just six months after he’d escaped from a high-security Mexican jail.

The Mexican government says it is cooperating with an extradition request for Guzman from the US.

With Guzman now back behind bars, control of the Sinaola Cartel will fall directly into the hands of 68-year-old Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who was described as “the patriarch” by Antonio Mazzitelli, the United Nations representative on drugs and crime in Mexico.