US President Joe Biden has welcomed the arrest of El Mayo Zambada and El Chapo’s son in a statement, in which he thanks the work of US security forces but does not mention cross-border collaboration or the Mexican government. In a brief statement issued by the White House, the president underlines the importance of the arrest “to save American lives from the scourge of fentanyl.” The ravages of the synthetic opioid have become a major electoral asset in the hands of Republicans, to attack the immigration management of the Democratic Administration.
Biden refers to Ismael Zambada García and Joaquín Guzmán López as “two of the most notorious leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the deadliest enterprises in the world.” “I commend the work of our law enforcement officials, who have carried out this arrest, for their continued work to bring the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel to justice,” in a message without any reference to Mexico, which must be read in an internal, that is, electoral, key.
“Too many citizens have lost their lives to the scourge of fentanyl. Too many families have been broken and suffering because of this destructive drug. My Administration will continue to do everything possible to hold deadly drug traffickers accountable and to save American lives,” Biden’s statement concluded. The US had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to Zambada’s arrest.
One of the high points of last week’s Republican convention in Milwaukee was the comparison between Biden’s immigration efforts and the massive influx of drug cartels into the US, a recurring theme in many speakers’ speeches. Vice-presidential candidate JD Vance’s acceptance speech placed particular emphasis on the ravages of fentanyl in rural and marginalised communities like his hometown.
For Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who also does not mention Mexican authorities, the Sinaloa cartel was “a pioneer in the manufacture of fentanyl and has trafficked it in our country for years, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans and devastating countless communities.” In a statement, Mayorkas has attributed all credit for the arrest to the “Biden-Harris Administration” for its “relentless, comprehensive, and unprecedented approach” to combat the scourge of the powerful opioid, approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as a painkiller. According to the DEAMayorkas congratulates “the dedicated and courageous agents and officers of the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, whose years of work, along with other members of law enforcement, have disrupted and dismantled, at great personal sacrifice, cartel operations around the world.”
“Fentanyl is the deadliest threat our country has ever faced, and the Department of Justice will not rest until every cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday night.
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