Law enforcement slowly peeling back layers of ‘El Chapo's' empire

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]The NBC 5 Chicago investigative team has learned new details tonight in the continuing crackdown on El Chapo's narco syndicate.

[00:00:07]>> Even though this notorious drug kingpin is still in prison serving a US life sentence, the relatives he's put in charge of the family cartel back in Mexico are slowly but surely being picked off by law enforcement. Our investigative reporter, Chuck Goudie, joining us now with late details. Hey, Chuck.

[00:00:23]>> Stefan and Allison, federal drug agents in the US and Mexico are peeling El Chapo's onion layer by layer, arresting the makers and movers in his Sinaloa cartel. Tonight in custody is Chapo's beloved nephew, Ismael Martinez, who was in charge of fentanyl production, according to law enforcement officials, overseeing the pipeline from Mexico to Chicago, where thousands of overdose deaths have occurred the past decade.

[00:00:50]Martinez is a top member of Los Chapitos, the core of the cartel onion, where now only two top traffickers remain, both of them El Chapo's sons.

[00:01:01]>> Headline news in Mexico, detain the nephew of El Chapo. Even though authorities slap a black privacy bar over his eyes, Ismael Martinez is well known as El Chinacate, a featherless bird. The only flight he'll now make is one way and in handcuffs to Chicago or New York, extradition to face sealed federal charges that law enforcement sources say are likely to include drug trafficking, organized crime, and conspiracy.

[00:01:28]>> They're putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Mexico and other countries to get these people and turn them over to us for the extradition.

[00:01:36]>> The arrest was made here in the Casablanca section of Nogales, a border town south of the Arizona line. The federales say in a separate raid they also confiscated an arsenal of 151 guns, 18 grenades, and 1,500 lb of cocaine.

[00:01:53]Chapo's nephew, in his early 40s, curiously was out on bond in Mexico despite having been arrested last year for allegedly overseeing the delivery of 10,000 fentanyl pills to the US. In the Sinaloa chain of command, he is considered right behind these two El Chapo's sons, Ivan and Jesus. NBC Chicago investigative sources say both are in negotiations with US authorities to potentially surrender as did their brothers now in custody in Chicago.

[00:02:24]>> If you're in the drug game, there's there's a couple of outcomes that aren't good that usually come your way. So, the reality is I think the the high-level drug traffickers are definitely put on notice right now.

[00:02:37]>> Are you surprised that these arrests lately have been made without a fight?

[00:02:42]>> Well, I'm I'm not surprised because I think you've you've seen some of the fights that have happened and the outcome was they lost and they they were either killed at the time or they were captured and they they're they're turned over. So, it it doesn't surprise me. But I think I think the United States government has put a lot of people on notice, especially some of these kingpin high-level drug traffickers, that they can be gotten if they want.

[00:03:09]And that puts pressure on people.

[00:03:12]>> After years of US Drug Enforcement Administration officials spinning their wheels in the quicksand of Mexican politics, tonight arrests and extraditions there are coming at a steady clip. Former Assistant Special Agent in Charge at DEA Chicago Division Mike Gannon says that's partly due to a more progressive Mexican government, but he says it's mostly the result of an administration in Washington that has told Mexico's leaders, "If you don't arrest cartel kingpins, the Americans will come in and do it for you." That, it seems, has been a pretty good incentive.

[00:03:45]>> Yeah, we've seen those shootouts and the violence in the streets in some of those areas. It's been intense.

[00:03:49]>> That seems to have calmed down.

[00:03:51]>> Yeah.

[00:03:51]>> All right. Chuck Gannon, thanks so much for the update.

[00:03:54]>> Shannon.