Both men are facing multiple charges in connection with leading the cartel’s criminal operations, and trafficking the deadly drug fentanyl into America, according to a statement from Attorney General Merrick Garland. Fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine, 50 times more potent than heroin, and has become a leading cause of death in the U.S. “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,” Garland said. According to three unnamed current and former U.S. officials who spoke with Reuters, Guzmán lured Zambada to the U.S. by making him believe they were traveling to inspect property in Mexico near the U.S. border. The plane first went to New Mexico, then to El Paso where the pair were taken into custody. "Two individuals got off the plane ... and were calmly taken into custody," said an airport worker who watched authorities carry out the arrest. "It seemed like a pretty calm, arranged thing.” Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday said the US government “must give a full report” on the operation that led to the arrests,” CNN reported. “There has to be transparency,” he said during a news conference. Mexico’s secretary of security, Rosa Icela Rodriguez, said, “The Mexican government did not participate in this detention or surrender,” adding that Mexico is still waiting on more information from the U.S. government. According to a statement from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the arrest “strikes at the heart of the cartel” responsible for most of the drugs killing Americans from coast to coast. “El Mayo is one of DEA’s most wanted fugitives and he is in custody tonight and will soon face justice in a U.S. court of law,” the agency said. “DEA will continue to seek justice for any American life that is lost and will work tirelessly to prevent more needless deaths and pursue those that are responsible.”Mexican drug kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of the notorious druglord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, have been arrested after an elaborate plan where the pair were fooled into getting on a plane headed to the U.S.
