José Ángel Canobbio, also known as “El Güerito” (little blond one), is accused of being the right hand man of Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, one of the sons of infamous jailed drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Mexican security forces say the arrest of Canobbio, who they say was in charge of security for Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, is a severe blow to the Sinaloa cartel.

He was captured just hours after the United States added the Sinaloa cartel to its list of foreign terrorist organisations (FTOs), a move which the Trump Administration says will allow it to better combat the criminal groups.

As well as the Sinaloa cartel, the US state department designated seven other Latin American crime groups as FTOs. They are:

• Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG)
• Gulf cartel
• Northeast cartel
• United cartel
• New Michoacán Family
• Tren de Aragua
• MS-13

All but the last two groups are based in Mexico and the Mexican government has come under huge pressure by the Trump Administration to step up its fight against them and the trafficking of the synthetic drug fentanyl they engage in.

Read more about how fentanyl gets into the US

Earlier this month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum managed to convince her US counterpart to hold off imposing a 25% duty on Mexican imports to the US for a month.

Mexican security forces will hope that the arrest of Canobbio – who was indicted in absentia by a federal grand jury in Chicago in November for allegedly smuggling fentanyl into the US – will go some way towards showing their commitment to the fight against drug trafficking.

The indictment accuses Canobbio of being the principal advisor, lieutenant and security chief for Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, one of the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán who took over the running of the Sinaloa cartel after their father was jailed.

According to security expert David Saucedo, Canobbio has played a key role in getting the Sinaloa cartel involved in the smuggling of fentanyl to the US.

Mr Saucedo told Mexico’s Radio Formula, that he expected him to be quickly extradited to the US.

Soldiers raided warehouses and drug labs in Higueras de Abuya, a village about 75km (45 miles) south of the state capital, Culiacán.

A spokesman for the army said the seizure of such a large amount of the synthetic drug – which in some forms is known by its street name crystal meth – would constitute a hard blow to whichever criminal gang was behind the labs.

Mexico’s security minister has deployed thousands of troops to the northern state of Sinaloa an effort to reign in the drug cartels that are active there.

The seizure of the powerful and highly addictive stimulant comes just two weeks after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum managed to convince US President Donald Trump to hold off imposing a 25% duty on Mexican imports to the US for a month.

One of the reasons Trump had cited for imposing the tariffs was the flow of drugs from Mexico to the US.

He also accused the Mexican government of having “an intolerable alliance” with drug trafficking organisations.

While the deployment of some extra troops to Sinaloa predates the spat between the US and Mexico over tariffs, the seizure of the methamphetamine stash will be welcome news to the Mexican government, which wants to demonstrate to the US that it is playing its part in trying to combat drug cartels.

Hamlet Toledo, deputy operative chief of the army general staff, told reporters that in addition to the four tonnes of methamphetamine seized this weekend, the army had also secured another large meth stash last week, bringing the total to more than five tonnes.

General Toledo said that one of the warehouses where the drugs were found appeared to have housed between 15 and 20 people, who are thought to have fled before the soldiers arrived.

The soldiers who located the labs had become suspicious when they spotted vats of precursor chemicals – needed to make the drug – outside the properties.

The pilot, known by the alias of “El Jando”, was detained in the northern city of Culiacán, the stronghold of Los Chapitos, in an operation in which one soldier was shot dead.

Mexican intelligence sources allege he is a key figure in Los Chapitos and that he played a role in the sting operation which led to the arrest of another cartel kingpin “El Mayo Zambada” in the US.

The pilot’s lawyers have asked the courts for more time to prepare his defence.

While “El Jando” was detained in the early hours of Saturday, detailed information about the charges levelled against him have only become public in recent days.

Mexico’s security minister told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday that he could confirm “El Jando” was the trusted pilot of the leader of “Los Chapitos”.

Prosecutors allege that as well as being an accomplished pilot, he was also involved in drug and arms trafficking and in several explosive attacks on the security forces.

Most importantly though, Mexican intelligence services are now hoping to gain information from “El Jando” about the mysterious flight which delivered wanted drug kingpin “El Mayo” into the hands of US federal agents.

US officials have said that “El Mayo” was betrayed by none other than Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of the infamous “El Chapo” Guzmán.

The officials allege that Guzmán López tricked the 75-year-old “El Mayo” – who had been a close ally of his father – into boarding a plane with him which then crossed the border into the US.

Photos released by US law enforcement showed the two men being arrested at a private airport near El Paso, Texas, by US agents who had clearly been waiting for them on the airport’s tarmac for their arrival.

Those loyal to “El Mayo” think that Joaquín Guzmán López delivered the cartel leader, who had evaded capture for three decades, to the US as part of a deal to negotiate a lesser sentence for himself.

The lawyer for “El Mayo” denied that his client had been “duped”, but said that he had been forced onto the plane by Joaquín Guzmán López.

“He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed … he was then thrown into the back of a pickup truck and taken to a landing strip; there, he was forced onto a plane, his legs tied to the seat by Joaquín, and brought to the US against his will,” the lawyer told the LA Times newspaper.

The lawyer also said that the only people on board the plane had been “the pilot, Joaquín and my client”.

While it is not yet clear whether “El Jando” – the pilot arrested this weekend – was the one who flew the plane or whether he helped to plan the operation, Mexican prosecutors appeared confident he could provide them with information about the flight which ended in the arrest of both Guzmán López and “El Mayo”.

“El Mayo” has since pleaded not guilty in a US court to a long list of drug-related charges while lawyers for Joaquín Guzmán López have said that their client is in plea negotiations.

The alleged betrayal of “El Mayo” by Guzmán López has led to a split in their cartel with followers of the former, known as “Los Mayos” or “La Mayiza”, attacking those loyal to the latter.