By Associated Press and Ryan Gorman PUBLISHED: 19:14 EST, 24 February 2014 | UPDATED: 00:01 EST, 3 March 2014 The recent arrest of Sinaloa drug cartel kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman means the next man in line will be expected to stand up - and now he may have been identified. Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, 66, and from the same rural area of Mexico as El Chapo, is a close confidant of the jailed drug lord, and is considered to be the brains behind the operation. 'He is everything,' a US official told the Los Angeles Times. 'The brains. The logistics. Security. Everything.' Guzman was seen by officials as the muscle.
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Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, 66, grew up with former Sinaloa boss Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman
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He has been quoted in the past as saying they talked often
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Zambada has long been considered the brains of the Sinaloa cartel, Guzman was viewed as the muscle
In fact, some fear Guzman's capture could spark more violence, though no @placeholder cartels seem strong enough at the moment to make a major play.