Texas
Mexican drug lord ‘El Mayo’ Zambada and son of ‘El Chapo’ arrested in Texas
In a major blow to the Sinaloa drug cartel, Ismael Zambada Garcia and Joaquin Guzman Lopez were detained after landing in El Paso on a private plane.
Mexican drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia and the son of his former partner, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, have been arrested in El Paso, Texas, in a major coup for United States law enforcement that may also reshape the Mexican criminal landscape.
Zambada Garcia, who is believed to be in his 70s, and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who is in his 30s, were detained after landing in a private plane in El Paso, two US officials told the Reuters news agency.
“The Justice Department has taken into custody two additional alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organisations in the world,” the US Department of Justice said on Thursday.
Known by this underworld name El Mayo, Zambada Garcia is alleged to be one of the most consequential drug traffickers in Mexico’s history. He co-founded the Sinaloa cartel with El Chapo, who was extradited to the US in 2017 and is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison.
Zambada Garcia and the younger Guzman face multiple charges in the US for allegedly funnelling huge quantities of drugs to the US, including fentanyl, which has surged in use to become the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.
Guzman Lopez is one of four sons of El Chapo – known collectively as Los Chapitos – who inherited their father’s faction of the Sinaloa cartel. His brother, Ovidio Guzman, was arrested last year and extradited to the US.
The US Justice Department had been offering $15m for information leading to the capture of Zambada Garcia, who US law enforcement claims became the Sinaloa cartel’s “unquestioned senior leader” following El Chapo’s arrest.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on Arrests of Alleged Leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel Ismael Zambada Garcia (El Mayo) and Joaquin Guzman Lopez
🔗: https://t.co/LumvDMKx2F pic.twitter.com/Wcm20MLrhC
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) July 26, 2024
El Mayo and El Chapo’s sons: Two different styles
Zambada Garcia and Guzman Lopez face multiple charges “for heading the Cartel’s criminal operations, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks”, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“We will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable,” Garland said.
The Sinaloa cartel traffics drugs to more than 50 countries around the globe and is one of two most powerful organised crime groups in Mexico, according to US authorities.
But Zambada Garcia and El Chapo’s sons belong to two different generations of drug traffickers, with differing styles.
Zambada Garcia is known for being “old-school”, avoiding the limelight and operating in the shadows. El Chapo’s sons, by contrast, have a reputation for being flashy drug traffickers who courted attention as they ascended the ranks of the cartel.
El Chapo’s sons are also known to be more violent and hot-headed than Zambada Garcia, who had a reputation as a shrewd operator.
Previous arrests of important Mexican cartel leaders have triggered violence as power vacuums open, leading to significant infighting within criminal organisations and between them and their rival cartels.
Vanda Felbab-Brown, a researcher at Washington’s Brookings Institution who closely monitors Mexican security, said the potential for violence as a result of the arrests “certainly looms very large”.
Beekeeper Christie Ray arrived at the scene and was stunned. She knew a swarm of honeybees had escaped after a truck overturned on a Texas road, but nothing prepared her for what she saw.
About 20 million bees were flying in groups so large they resembled dark clouds. So many sat on a tree branch that it broke. The air smelled like honey, beeswax and bananas, the odor bees release when they sting.
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The Texas Board of Education on Friday approved mandated reading lists for public school children that include passages from the Bible – the latest effort by leaders there to infuse the education system with conservative and religious ideals.
The Republican-dominated board, in a 9-5 vote with one member absent and not voting, approved the reading lists for over 5 million public school students beginning in 2030.
Texas had already mandated that the Bible’s Ten Commandments be displayed in all public schools, a decision that was upheld by a federal appeals court earlier this year, following on the heels of other Republican-led states seeking to infuse public education with Christian teachings.
Critics say these decisions are at odds with the Constitution’s “establishment clause,” long understood by courts as separating church and state. Supporters say the measures restore basic Judeo-Christian teachings to school systems, which many have said are historically significant.
The required reading list is wide-ranging and includes mostly non-Biblical and classical texts, such as Aesop’s fables, tales about Native Americans, and a children’s versions of Don Quixote. Critics have noted that much of the list comprises texts written by white male authors, in a state with a majority of Latino and Black students.
Rachel Laser, the head of the advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said in a written statement that the Texas board of education’s decision sought to “misuse public schools to impose one narrow set of religious beliefs and indoctrinate a new generation of Americans in the lie that America is a Christian country.”
Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; Editing by David Gregorio
LEAKEY, Texas – A giraffe that escaped a ranch in the Texas Hill Country two weeks ago has been located, according to the manager of the ranch.
The giraffe named Gracie disappeared from the Cedar Hollow Ranch on June 12.
What’s new:
Vick Jones, who manages the ranch, told FOX Local on Friday that Gracie was spotted by a helicopter about 7:30 a.m. nearly 4 miles away from the ranch.
According to Jones, she is in a heavily wooded and brush-filled remote area. He said Gracie was in good shape and had lots of trees to eat and water to drink.
Jones said there are no roads leading to where she is, so a veterinarian is assembling a team to figure out the best way to get her back to the ranch. She’ll have to be tranquilized and loaded onto a trailer, which will take “the better part of a day.”
Gracie the giraffe is seen from a helicopter in rough terrain in the Texas Hill Country on June 26, 2026. (Real County Sheriff Nathan T. Johnson/Facebook / FOX Local)
What they’re saying:
According to Jones, the exotic-animal ranch has had giraffes for about 30 years. He said Gracie ventured into an area most of the giraffes don’t go and was able to get out of a gate.
“We released her into the canyon,” Jones said. “She actually started going up and feeding in an area we’d never had giraffes feed in before. It’s up on a rock slab, just a limestone slab, and she goes up the hill and went up over the mountain.”
An image of Gracie the giraffe was shared by authorities after the animal went missing June 22, 2026. (Real County Animal Rescue-Shelter/Facebook / FOX Local)
What’s next:
Gracie should be back at the ranch within the next day or so, Jones predicted.
The Source: Information in this story came from Vick Jones and previous FOX Local reporting.
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