
Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, one of the leaders of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, is set to appear this Friday in a courtroom in the Eastern District of New York to face 17 drug trafficking charges. The hearing, presided over by U.S. Magistrate Judge James R. Cho, is set to start at 10 a.m. ET.
Although Magistrate Judge James R. Cho's name is in official court papers, the audience is expected to be presided over by Judge Brian Cogan, who was El Chapo's judge. Cogan was also the magistrate who presided over the trial of Genaro García Luna, the former Mexican Secretary of the Interior, in New York in 2023. García Luna was found guilty of several drug trafficking charges, although he is still awaiting his final sentencing.