Who is El Mayo?
by Frederick Venables
Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada is an enigmatic figure. He is purported to be the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel and the ‘capo de capos’, or ‘boss of bosses’, who has held ascendancy over the likes of “El Chapo” (Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera) and “The Lord of the Skies” (Amado Carrillo Fuentes). Although it is improbable that El Mayo has exercised such a degree of centralised authority, he remains subject to considerable popular and media attention. Yet, very little is known about the origins of his criminal career.
One of the rare photos of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada
During his only interview to date, published by Proceso in April 2010, El Mayo was asked about how he became involved in the illicit drug trade by journalist Julio Scherer García but failed to elaborate. In the absence of any clear indication towards his narcotrafficking heritage, folklores, varying in factuality, have filled the void. According to some, El Mayo began producing small quantities of marijuana as a teenager from his residence in El Alamo, Culiacán where he is said to have been born in January 1948. Not long after, he formed connections with José Inés Calderón Quintero and Lamberto Quintero Payán who were both prominent traffickers in Sinaloa and relatives of Rafael Caro Quintero.
El Mayo and Julio Scherer, editor of Proceso
However, an alternative, or at least additional, narrative regarding the early career of El Mayo exists through a Cuban trafficker known as Antonio Cruz Vazquez. Despite his extravagant lifestyle, he remains a relatively unknown figure. What we do know is that he was born in Havana (possibly between 1926 and 1927) and became a captain of the national police force following the end of the Cuban Revolution. What could have only been a few months later, he mysteriously disappeared before re-emerging in Nicaragua. Here, rumours circulated that Vazquez was working on behalf of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency or the Cuban Dirección de Inteligencia. Vazquez was then held at a county jail in Laredo, Texas on 12 May 1960 after transporting a stolen vehicle from Florida to Cuba and then Mexico where he was caught and extradited. At this stage, he was known to be a legal resident of New York City. During the 1960s, he allegedly obtained a fraudulent birth certificate stating that he was from Puerto Rico and was arrested two more times on minor drug offences.
Antonio Cruz Vazquez – Also known as Edgar Cruz or “Niko” as his friends at Caesars Palace called him
In 1970, he was arrested near Alamogordo, New Mexico after being caught in possession of 596 lbs of marijuana. He was sentenced to five years at Latuna Prison, Texas but was released in 1973 on account of his good behaviour and deteriorating heart condition. Upon his release, he travelled back to Mexico where he married the sister of El Mayo, Modesta Zambada. Through this arrangement, the Zambadas, who were from a family of Cuban exiles themselves, became suppliers for Vazquez and his heroin enterprise. Under the wing of his brother-in-law, El Mayo performed a range of duties from buying furniture for his boss, or cudaño, to packing the Mexican brand of brown heroin into suitcases.
From Culiacán, the produce made its way across the border by air to Tucson, Arizona or if this method became problematic, it was concealed under car tires and driven across the border into Nogales. The heroin was then moved into storage in Las Vegas before it was sold across New York and New Jersey. Business was booming, the French Connection, which had been the primary supplier of the U.S. heroin market since the 1960s, was destroyed by 1972 paving the way for a new generation of Cuban traffickers and Mexican suppliers to dominate this part of the drug trade. The arrest of Alberto Sicilia-Falcon in 1975 removed a powerful competitor and was likely to have benefitted the Vazquez-Zambada operation further.
Yet, Vazquez was facing his own dilemma. For whatever reason, he feared his children would be kidnapped in Mexico which compelled him to return to the U.S. during the mid-1970s. Here, Vazquez adopted a more hands-off approach and acquired an attachment to the gambling culture at Caesars Palace near his residence in Las Vegas. Presumably, this development elevated the importance of El Mayo in conducting operations out of Culiacán and afforded him entry into the U.S. putting him within closer proximity to clients across the border. Indeed, El Mayo’s brother, Jesus “El Rey” Zambada, revealed during the trial of El Chapo that Vazquez brought him a Porsche and fostered him for six months when he was fourteen.
Jesus “El Rey” Zambada
Vazquez increasingly spent his time at Caesars Palace where he was known to carouse and gamble, albeit not very well (Vazquez racked up over $2.9-million in losses), amongst women and fellow ‘businessmen’. Eventually, his lavish lifestyle caught up with him. On 28 January 1978, Vazquez and his pilot, James Walker, were arrested in Las Vegas alongside nine other associates across New York and New Jersey in connection to a heroin sting worth $18-million a year. Through a year-long investigation, officials constructed a profile on Vazquez before wiretapping his conversations. Represented in court by Gerard L. Shargel, who went on to become a renowned criminal defence lawyer, Vazquez almost escaped conviction because the 208 taped voice recordings of him and his associates were not sealed in time, but he was eventually sentenced to fifteen years in federal prison and a lifetime of parole. Upon his arrest, Nevada narcotics officer, Jorge Luis Fonte (who was deeply involved in organized crime himself) did ask Vazquez about the rumours surrounding his presence in Nicaragua but the Cuban declined to comment.
‘A Smuggler’s Last Gamble’ (7 November 1978) by Lou Cannon for the Washington Post provides a useful account of Vazquez.
Although El Mayo appeared on record for the first time during this investigation in 1977, the downfall of his boss propelled his criminal career. He inherited contacts from Vazquez and commercial property through his sister, Modesta, that was used to launder money. In addition, the way Vazquez was caught illustrated to El Mayo the importance of staying out the limelight and keeping his voice off record to avoid incriminating himself (El Mayo rarely speaks on the phone or at meetings).
However, Vazquez was not just a bad example. El Mayo developed his knowledge regarding the logistics of the drug trade through the Vazquez-Zambada alliance, including the importance of bribes and policing connections. Baggage attendants on both sides of the border were paid off which facilitated the flow of drugs and money whilst a Mexican police comandante’s vehicle was used to transport heroin to Nogales. In addition, Vazquez taught El Mayo how to negotiate and procure loyalty from associates. Although Vazquez cut a resigned figure by the time of his arrest and later told Fonte “It seems to me that all I ever do is lose”, he was previously a successful businessman known for his generosity and professionality. In one acclaimed incident, Vazquez even ordered his pilot to travel to Las Vegas and buy two of every item from a toy store for children, possibly including El Mayo, attending a Christmas function he hosted at Lake Tahoe. El Mayo was taught at an early age the significance of being at peace with his community which has contributed to his continued evasion of enforcement efforts.
This outlines that to fully understand El Mayo we must understand his mentor. Like his apprentice, Vazquez was a character shrouded in mystery, but the intrigue surrounding his life, let alone his importance in regard to El Mayo, certainly warrants attention.