'World's Most Wanted': El Chapo was arrested after his successor's son betrayed him and became a witness
Federal authorities succeeded in capturing Sinaloa Cartel supremo Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán after the son of one of his partners turned into a witness in prison and revealed his whereabouts and operations, a new Netflix docu-series has claimed. Guzmán, once ranked as one of the most powerful people in the world by Forbes because of the billions in wealth he had accrued via the illicit operations of his drug cartel, was arrested in 2016 following a shoot-out in Mazatlan, Mexico. He was subsequently extradited to the US, where he was found guilty of several criminal charges related to his leadership of the cartel in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison at ADX Florence, a maximum-security federal prison in Colorado.
According to an episode on Netflix's 'World's Most Wanted,' a docu-series dedicated to profiling those suspected of heinous crimes, Guzmán's capture came thanks to the cooperation of Vincente "El Vincentillo" Zambada. Vincente is the son of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada García, who is now believed to have taken over the reins of the Sinaloa Cartel following Guzmán's arrest and incarceration. While he is likely worth billions himself, Zambada has managed to evade authorities for over two decades by keeping a low profile, delegating responsibility, and of course, eliminating competition.
Zambada's rise to the top coincided with the fall of drug lord Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, whose arrest in 1989 resulted in his drug organization being split into two factions: the Tijuana Cartel whose leadership was inherited by his nephews and heirs, the Arellano Félix brothers; and the Sinaloa Cartel whose leadership fell to former lieutenants Héctor Luis Palma Salazar, Adrián Gómez González, Ismael Zambada García, Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, and Joaquín Guzmán.
Once a lowly Sicario who had started his criminal career by smuggling a few kilograms of drugs at a time, Zambada had found himself elevated to a position of incredible power. But while his partners wound up arrested, or dead, he kept himself away from the limelight and gave his commands via a few trusted sources. One of those sources happened to be his son, Vincente, who was in charge of logistics for the Sinaloa Cartel and was being groomed to be his successor. However, it all went wrong following a ploy Zambada and Guzmán hatched to eliminate their enemies.
Zambada and Guzmán decided the best course of action to consolidate their power was to open secret talks with the U.S. government wherein they could provide information about their competitors in exchange for being left to do their business without any problems from the concerned authorities. Zambada sent Vincente on the cartel's behalf, reflecting his high standing in the organization, with the talks taking place at the Hotel Sheraton in Mexico City with three DEA agents. Located a few meters from the U.S. embassy, the belief was that Vincente would be safe. While the U.S. has insisted it was not a set-up, just a few hours after his meeting, he was arrested by the Mexican military. He was then extradited to the U.S., where he was jailed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago. For the next two years, he was kept in conditions described by Guzmán's lawyer as "draconian" -- complete isolation and was no communication, not even with even his wife. Eventually, Vincente broke and told authorities he was ready to cooperate with them but only after he received the approval of his father. That approval came in the form of a secretive phone call where Zambada directed his son to tell federal authorities everything and "betray" Guzmán if it meant his freedom.
Shortly after, hundreds were arrested, including Guzmán, and Vincente was given a deal by prosecutors where he would have to serve 15 years in prison, and another five years of probation, for his crimes. Afterward, he was told he would be moved into witness protection, where he will be under the care of the US government.