The US government charged 43 people on Thursday in connection with “major drug-trafficking” offences, including the alleged leaders of some of Mexico’s biggest cartels.

The charges, announced by Eric Holder, US attorney-general, include the alleged leaders of the infamous Sinaloa and Beltran-Leyva cartels: Joaquín “Chapo” Guzmán, Ismael “el Mayo” Zambada and Arturo Beltran-Leyva.