The arrest of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the long-revered leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, has plunged one of Mexico's most notorious criminal organizations into a state of disarray. Historically recognized as one of the most powerful drug cartels in the world, the Sinaloa Cartel was immersed in an internal war after the imprisonment of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán but now faces an uncertain future marked by fragmentation and internal power struggles.
The cartel, whose power and notoriety rivaled Pablo Escobar's Cartel de Medellín, was once united under a single leader, El Chapo, with El Mayo next to him. Nowadays, it's divided into four distinct factions, each vying for control.
