According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Sinaloa Cartel is “one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world.”
Zambada founded the cartel alongside drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is currently in prison. U.S. prosecutors charged Zambada in February with conspiring to manufacture and distribute fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic painkiller up to 50 times stronger than heroin. The cartel uses planes, ships and even submarines for smuggling and is said to make hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.
According to US officials, fentanyl use is the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 45. Last year, Ovidio Guzmán, also the son of ‘El Chapo’, was extradited to the United States.