(CNN) A high-ranking leader of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel was arrested Tuesday and could face charges in the United States, authorities said.

Dámaso López Nuñez was picked up in Mexico City, according to the office of Mexico's attorney general.

His arrest follows January's extradition of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the Houdini-like master of escape who is accused of running the Sinaloa cartel -- one of the world's largest drug trafficking organizations.

Guzman awaits trial in New York on 17 counts accusing him of running a criminal enterprise responsible for importing and distributing massive amounts of narcotics and conspiring to murder rivals.

The Sinaloa cartel controls an estimated 40% to 60% of the marijuana, cocaine and heroin peddled on the streets of the United States.

Source: Information from US led to arrest

López Nuñez, who is believed by many to have taken over the cartel from Guzman, could now follow "El Chapo" across the US-Mexico border. He is expected to face charges in Virginia for alleged distribution of cocaine and money laundering, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. The United States provided information leading to his arrest, the source said.

Photos: 'El Chapo' in prison Photos: 'El Chapo' in prison Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman stands in his cell at the Altiplano Federal Prison in Mexico. Increased security measures are being used by authorities to make sure the cartel kingpin doesn't break out of prison for a third time. His most recent escape came in July, when he got out through a hole in the floor of his cell's shower stall. The images in this gallery were obtained by Mexican journalist Carlos Loret de Mola. Hide Caption 1 of 7 Photos: 'El Chapo' in prison Military vehicles and canine officers guard the Altiplano prison. Hide Caption 2 of 7 Photos: 'El Chapo' in prison Guards walk down a hallway of the prison, which has installed 400 new cameras. Authorities hope to add another 600 by April. Hide Caption 3 of 7 Photos: 'El Chapo' in prison An X-ray machine is guarded at the prison's entrance.

Hide Caption 4 of 7 Photos: 'El Chapo' in prison A body scan machine is also at the front entrance. Hide Caption 5 of 7 Photos: 'El Chapo' in prison An officer operates the body scan machine. Hide Caption 6 of 7 Photos: 'El Chapo' in prison An officer at the entrance swabs a visitor to detect explosives. Hide Caption 7 of 7

López Nuñez nicknamed "El Licensiado," a title given to a college graduate, was indicted in November 2011 in Virginia. He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, if convicted.

The indictment was unsealed in 2013. In January 2013, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated López Nuñez under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act -- which prohibits US persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with him and freezes any assets under US jurisdiction.

Reputed top lieutenant of 'El Chapo' Guzman

OFAC at the time identified López Nuñez as a top lieutenant of Guzman. López Nuñez helped Guzman escape from Mexican federal prison in 2001, according to OFAC.

Photos: Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's 2015 escape Photos: Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's 2015 escape Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was considered the world's most powerful drug lord until his arrest in Mexico in February 2014. He escaped from a maximum-security prison on July 11, 2015. Hide Caption 1 of 6 Photos: Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's 2015 escape This screen grab of security video, dated July 11 and released by Mexico's National Security Commission, shows Guzman inside his cell at the Altiplano prison in Almoloya de Juarez, Mexico. He is looking at the shower floor shortly before escaping through a tunnel below, authorities said. Hide Caption 2 of 6 Photos: Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's 2015 escape A journalist climbs a ladder to get out of the tunnel that authorities say Guzman used to escape. Hide Caption 3 of 6 Photos: Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's 2015 escape Journalists exit the tunnel on Tuesday, July 14. Hide Caption 4 of 6 Photos: Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's 2015 escape Yellow police tape surrounds the construction site where the exit of the tunnel is located. Hide Caption 5 of 6 Photos: Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's 2015 escape Federal police guard a drainage pipe outside of the prison on Sunday, July 12. Hide Caption 6 of 6

In 2015, Guzman staged another daring prison escape through a mile-long tunnel that featured a motorcycle on tracks. The trafficking of heroin, marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico is an annual $19 billion to $20 billion industry, according to a Department of Homeland Security report.

The cartel has reputedly held a dominant share of that market, thanks in part to Guzman's sophisticated business strategies and Sinaloa's control of trafficking routes.

A US Customs and Border Protection report that analyzed seizure data along the border between 2009 and 2010 found that "the removal of key personnel does not have a discernible impact on drug flows" into the United States.