International
Leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel arrested in Texas

Leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel arrested in Texas
One of the world’s most powerful drug lords, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, has been arrested by US federal agents in El Paso, Texas.
Zambada, 76, founded the criminal organisation with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is currently jailed in the US.
Arrested with Zambada on Thursday was Guzman’s son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, said the US justice department.
In February, Zambada was charged by US prosecutors with a conspiracy to make and distribute fentanyl, a drug more powerful than heroin that has been blamed for the US opioid crisis.
In a written statement on Thursday evening, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the two men lead “one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world”.
“El Mayo and Guzman Lopez join a growing list of Sinaloa cartel leaders and associates who the Justice Department is holding accountable in the United States,” Mr Garland said.
“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable,” added Mr Garland, the top law enforcement officer in the US.
American prosecutors say the Sinaloa cartel is the biggest supplier of drugs to the US.
US authorities have previously noted that fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45.
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The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had been offering a reward of up to $15m (£12m) for Zambada’s capture.
During Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s trial in 2019, his lawyers accused Zambada of bribing the “entire” Mexican government in exchange for living openly without fear of prosecution.
“In truth he controlled nothing,” Guzman’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, told jurors of his client. “Mayo Zambada did,” he claimed.
According to the US state department, Zambada is also the owner of several legitimate businesses in Mexico, including “a large milk company, a bus line, and a hotel”, as well as real estate assets.
Alongside fentanyl charges, he is also facing charges in the US ranging from drug trafficking, murder, kidnapping, money laundering and organised crime.
In May, Zambada’s nephew – Eliseo Imperial Castro, who was known as “Cheyo Antrax” – was killed in an ambush in Mexico. He was also wanted by US authorities.
Zambada is arguably the biggest drug lord in the world and certainly the most influential in the Americas.
He had evaded authorities for decades, and as such, his arrest has come as a shock in Mexico.
Details of the arrests of the two men remain unclear, but it appears they flew into the United States.
Citing Mexican and US officials, the Wall Street Journal reports that Zambada was tricked into boarding the plane by a high-ranking Sinaloa member following a months-long operation by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI.
Zambada believed he was going to inspect clandestine airfields in Mexico, the paper reports.
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In a statement, US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said the Sinaloa cartel “pioneered the manufacture of fentanyl and has for years trafficked it into our country, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans and devastating countless communities”.
FBI director Chris Wray said the arrests are “an example of the FBI’s and our partners’ commitment to dismantling violent transnational criminal organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel,” he said.
As more information emerges, Zambada’s arrest will no doubt be heralded by President Joe Biden’s administration as one of the most significant operations by the DEA in years.
Zambada co-founded the Sinaloa cartel in the wake of the collapse of the Guadalajara cartel at the end of the 1980s.
While Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was the public face of the organisation and the most notorious of the two men, many believed it was in fact El Mayo who was its real leader.
Not only ruthless, he was also innovative, creating and maintaining some of the earliest links with Colombian cartels to flood the US with cocaine and heroin.
And more latterly, fentanyl.
His leadership of the criminal empire has endured in the face of changing presidents in Mexico and the US, amid repeated anti-drug offensives from successive governments and constant efforts by his enemies in other drug-trafficking organisations to bring him down.
That is no mean feat in the violent, dangerous and treacherous underworld in which he has operated as an unassailable kingpin for many years.
Yet that extraordinary resilience appears to have run out in El Paso, Texas – a city blighted by the influx of the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, much of which was smuggled in by his organisation.
Leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel arrested in Texas
BBC
International
Canada denies 13,000 Nigerians refugee status

Canada denies 13,000 Nigerians refugee status
Over 13,000 Nigerians who applied for refugee protection in Canada from January 2013 to December 2024 were rejected.
According to data from the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, this figure includes 811 Nigerians whose applications were turned down in 2024.
The board placed Nigeria among the top five countries with the most rejected claims.
Mexico tops the list with 2,954 rejections, followed by India and Haiti, which have 1,688 and 982 rejected claims, respectively.
Colombia is in fourth place with 723 rejected claims, while Nigeria is in fifth place with 13,171 rejections.
In Canada, asylum seekers get refugee protection if the RPD satisfactorily confirms that their claims meet the United Nations definition of a Convention refugee.
In its definition of the Status of Refugee, the 1951 UN Convention states refugees are persons who have a substantiated fear of persecution because of their race, nationality, religion, political ideology or membership in a particular social group, which can include sexual orientation, gender identity, being a woman and persons living with HIV/AIDS.
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However, in Canada, asylum seekers are expected to show evidence that they are in danger of torture, risk to their life or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if they return to their country of nationality.
According to the Refugee Board’s application guideline, if an applicant’s “claim is eligible, it is sent to the RPD to start the claim for refugee protection process.”
The breakdown of the rejections showed that 127 Nigerian claims were rejected in 2013, 241 in 2014 and 248 in 2015.
Canada denies 13,000 Nigerians refugee status
International
Nurse punished in UK for addressing convicted transgender paedophile as ‘Mr’

Nurse punished in UK for addressing convicted transgender paedophile as ‘Mr’
A senior nurse in the UK is battling to save her career after facing disciplinary action for refusing to refer to a convicted child sex offender as a woman.
Jennifer Melle, 40, from Croydon, was working at Epsom and St Helier University Hospital Trust when she declined to use female pronouns for a paedophile known as ‘Mr X,’ per report from the London Standard.
The offender, currently serving time in a high-security male prison, was jailed for grooming boys online while posing as a teenage girl.
Following her refusal, Melle claims she was subjected to racial abuse and physical threats.
She was, reportedly, then issued a final written warning and referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for allegedly breaching professional standards.
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NHS lawyers argued that Melle’s Christian belief—that people are born male or female—was “not worthy of respect in a democratic society.”
An internal investigation found she had violated the NMC Code of Conduct by failing to respect the patient’s “preferred identity” and uphold the Trust’s core value of “Respect.”
As a result, Melle has been moved to another ward, which she says is a demotion, and has had her name removed from internal hospital systems, preventing her from applying for additional shifts.
Now, with the backing of the Christian Legal Centre, she has launched legal action against the Trust, alleging harassment, discrimination, and breaches of her human rights.
The case comes amid growing controversy over gender policies in public institutions.
A recent report, the Sullivan Review, revealed that UK police forces have been allowing criminals to self-identify their gender on official records, sparking nationwide debate.
Nurse punished in UK for addressing convicted transgender paedophile as ‘Mr’
International
Gaza: Iran begins talks with S’Arabia, Egypt as Israel renews attacks

Gaza: Iran begins talks with S’Arabia, Egypt as Israel renews attacks
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Saturday exchanged views with his Saudi Arabian and Egyptian counterparts on Israel’s renewed attacks on Gaza.
In a phone conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Araghchi strongly condemned Israel’s attacks in Gaza, and urged other countries in the region to take collective action, said the Iranian Foreign Ministry in a statement.
For his part, Faisal reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of Israeli aggressions and emphasized regional coordination to prevent further escalation.
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In a separate phone call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Araghchi condemned Israel’s renewed attacks on Gaza as well as obstruction of humanitarian aid delivery to the Palestinian coastal enclave “in flagrant violation” of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
The Egyptian foreign minister underscored the need for consultations and diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation.
Both Egyptian and Iranian ministers agreed to maintain consultations on regional developments.
Gaza: Iran begins talks with S’Arabia, Egypt as Israel renews attacks
Xinhua
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