Jesus Zambada Garcia, the brother of a suspected drug kingpin in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, was among 16 people captured

Jesus Zambada Garcia, the brother of a suspected drug kingpin in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, was among 16 people captured Monday after a gunbattle in the Mexican capital, said Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora. The attorney general said Zambada, whose nickname means "the king," commanded one of four branches of the so-called Sinaloa cartel, leading its operations in central Mexico. Zambada is the brother of Ismael Zambada and an associate of Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, the most-wanted trafficker in Mexico, officials said. Jesus Zambada controlled smuggling of cocaine and chemical ingredients for the production of methamphetamine through Mexico City's airport, Medina Mora said. Authorities have focused increasing attention in recent months on drug smugglers' use of the country's largest airport.
Jesus Zambada is also linked to a number of gruesome drug killings in central and western Mexico, prosecutors said. "The arrest of Jesus Zambada Garcia, the King, stands out, without a doubt, as one of the most significant by President (Felipe) Calderon's government to date," Medina Mora told reporters. "It is not the only one in recent months, nor will it be the last in the months to come." Investigators are looking into Zambada's possible role in the assassination of the acting federal police chief, Edgar Millan Gomez. The police commander was ambushed in his Mexico City home in May by a gunman, and authorities have long suspected Sinaloa traffickers were behind the slaying. Marisela Morales, who runs the organized-crime unit of the attorney general's office, called Zambada "one of the most important" smugglers of cocaine and methamphetamines into Mexico.