<p><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5da9c616695b582eed52e91b-2000/2019-10-18t043239z1lynxmpef9h09mrtroptp4mexico-violence-sinaloa 1.jpg" border="0" alt="A burning bus, set alight by cartel gunmen to block a road, is pictured during clashes with federal forces following the detention of Ovidio Guzman, son of drug kingpin Joaquin " data-mce-source="Jesus Bustamante / Reuters" data-mce-caption="A burning bus, set alight by cartel gunmen to block a road, is pictured during clashes with federal forces following the detention of Ovidio Guzman, son of drug kingpin Joaquin &quotEl Chapo&quot Guzman, in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico October 17, 2019." data-link="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all'id=tag%3Areuters.com%2C2019%3Anewsml_KBN1WW34L%3A8&search=all%3Ael%20chapo"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>The conviction of Ismael Zambada-Imperial, son of the Sinaloa Cartel's top leader, in the United States may be a headline-grabber but does nothing to blunt the group's ability to bring drugs into the country.</p><p>On April 30, Ismael Zambada-Imperial, alias "Mayito Gordo," pleaded <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/sinaloa-cartel-leader-convicted" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">guilty</a> to importing cocaine, marijuana and heroin from Mexico into the United States at a hearing in the Southern District of California. He has also agreed to forfeit $5 million in drug trafficking proceeds.</p><p>Zambada-Imperial, the son of Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Ismael Zambada Garca, <a href="https://insightcrime.org/mexico-organized-crime-news/ismael-zambada-garcia-el-mayo/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">alias "El Mayo,"</a> was arrested in Culiacn, Sinaloa, in 2014 after Mexican authorities tracked his movements due to his frequent posts on social media, where he made <a href="https://lasillarota.com/nacion/el-mayito-gordo-el-hijo-de-el-mayo-que-se-vanagloriaba-en-redes-sociales/346902" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lavish displays</a> of wealth.</p><p>His lawyers fought to prevent his extradition to the United States but he was finally <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/dygzna/sinaloa-cartel-kingpins-son-el-mayito-gordo-was-just-quietly-extradited-to-san-diego" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">transferred</a> to San Diego, California, in December 2019.</p><p>According to the Justice Department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/sinaloa-cartel-leader-convicted" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>, Zambada-Imperial's arrest and subsequent conviction came as part of an investigation that began in 2011 concerning the Sinaloa Cartel smuggling drugs into National City and Chula Vista, California.</p><p>"This case is part of a multi-year investigation that, in total, has resulted in charges against over 125 people and has had a significant impact on the worldwide operations of the Sinaloa Cartel," read the statement.</p><p>He is the third of El Mayo's sons to be jailed in the United States on drug trafficking charges.</p><p>Jess Vicente Zambada Niebla, alias "El Vicentillo," was extradited in 2010 and was <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-el-chapo-witness-mexican-cartel-sentencing-20190529-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sentenced</a> to 15 years in 2019, after testifying in the trial of Sinaloa kingpin, Joaquin Guzmn Loera, alias "El Chapo." And Serafn Zambada Ortiz was <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/sdut-son-zambada-cartel-arrest-drug-indict-mexico-2013nov22-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arrested </a>in Nogales, Arizona, in 2013 but <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/sd-me-zambada-sentence-20180320-story.html">secured</a> a relatively lenient five-year sentence and was released in 2018.</p><h2 id="h-insight-crime-analysis">InSight Crime analysis</h2><p><img src="https://static5.businessinsider.com/image/588523f2f10a9a51098b9551/rtswdf7.jpg" border="0" alt="El Chapo Guzman Mexico prison" data-mce-source="Mexico's Attorney General's Office/Handout" data-mce-caption="Mexico's top drug lord, Joaquin &quotEl Chapo&quot Guzmn, is escorted by police officers in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, as he is extradited to New York in this handout image made available January 19, 2017. Faces obscured at source."></p><p>The criminal landscape facing the Sinaloa Cartel has changed drastically since 2014, when Zambada-Imperial was <a href="https://justiceinmexico.org/son-of-sinaloa-cartel-leader-arrested-in-culiacan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arrested</a> in Culiacn.</p><p>First, since El Chapo was<a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/is-mexico-better-el-chapo-jail-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> jailed for life</a> in the United States, not all has been well in the Sinaloa Cartel's upper echelons. While Zambada Garca has retained overall control of the group, it seems there has been a <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/mexico-chino-antrax-sinaloa/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">serious split </a>between his supporters and those of Guzmn Loera's sons, collectively known as <a href="https://insightcrime.org/mexico-organized-crime-news/los-chapitos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"Los Chapitos."</a></p><p>There have been <a href="https://www.jornada.com.mx/ultimas/politica/2020/06/28/fractura-del-cartel-de-sinaloa-dispara-violencia-en-culiacan-1320.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">repeated outbreaks</a> of violence between both sides in the state of Sinaloa, reportedly between partisans of both sides.</p><p>InSight Crime once reported on the speculation that El Mayo's sons, <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/los-mayitos-successors-mexico-sinaloa-cartel-throne/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"Los Mayitos,"</a> could take over the reins of the group. But they have not shown the same cohesion as El Chapo's children. Now, with the conviction of Zambada-Imperial, the final son, Ismael Zambada Sicairos, alias "Mayito Flaco," has not<a href="https://laparednoticias.com/el-mayito-flaco-el-hijo-oculto-de-el-mayo-zambada/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> been seen</a> for a long time.</p><p>In contrast, none of Los Chapitos are currently under arrest or in prison.</p><p>When one of them, Ovidio Guzmn Lpez, was <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/el-chapo-son-detained-freed-after-cartel-mobilization-mexico/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">briefly detained</a> by Mexican troops in Culiacn in October 2019, armed gunmen poured onto the streets, paralyzed the city and forced his release.</p><p>Secondly, while the Sinaloa Cartel remains among the two powerful cartels in Mexico, its status has been challenged by the rapid and violent rise of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacin<a href="https://insightcrime.org/mexico-organized-crime-news/jalisco-cartel-new-generation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CJNG</a>), which has <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/jalisco-cartel-dominate-mexico/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">made inroads</a> into much of the center and the north of the country.</p><p>In recent years, the two groups have clashed in a <a href="https://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2021/01/27/mapa-de-guerra-los-estados-que-disputan-el-cjng-y-el-cartel-de-sinaloa/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">number</a> of Mexican states. These fights have been concentrated along states bordering the United States or in interior states through which drugs are moved, including <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/cartel-violence-central-mexico-taking-hold-jerez/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zacatecas</a>, <a href="https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/us-consulate-issues-travel-alert-for-mexicali-western-sonora/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sonora</a>, <a href="https://www.mexicoviolence.org/post/nayarit-and-the-making-of-a-narco-state" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nayarit</a>, <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/internal-strife-cjng-baja-california-mexico/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Baja California</a> and <a href="https://www.milenio.com/policia/cjng-gana-terreno-desplaza-cartel-sinaloa-puntos-clave" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chihuahua</a>, as well as in the southeastern state of <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/jalisco-cartel-winning-battle-mexico-caribbean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Quintana Roo</a>.</p><p>While the Sinaloa Cartel remains under the leadership of Zambada Garca, its local bosses have broad decision-making power, which makes it difficult to estimate how much of an overall toll this violence has had on the group.</p><p>And while Zambada-Imperial was certainly once a power player in the Sinaloa Cartel, seven years is an age in criminal terms. His conviction is merited but means little to a group that has long left him behind.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sinaloa-cartel-princeling-pleads-guilty-but-cartel-has-moved-on-2021-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story »</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mexico-drug-lord-sinaloa-cartel-joaquin-el-chapo-guzman-extradited-united-states-2017-1">Here's footage of 'El Chapo' arriving to the US</a></p>
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