A federal judge in El Paso has granted permission for a prominent Mexican drug cartel leader to be transferred from Texas to New York to face charges. The decision follows a request from federal prosecutors and the agreement of the defendant's legal team.
The individual in question, a co-founder of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel named Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, was apprehended in July alongside Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of the infamous drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The arrest took place at an airport near El Paso after the pair arrived on a private plane.
Zambada, aged 76, has been indicted on various drug-related offenses in the United States and is currently in custody. He has entered a plea of not guilty to charges of drug trafficking in a federal court in El Paso.
The presiding judge, Kathleen Cardone, has ruled that Zambada will first face the legal proceedings in New York before any further actions are taken in Texas. The senior Guzmán, known as “El Chapo,” was previously convicted in New York in 2019 and is serving a life sentence.
In New York, Zambada is facing charges including operating a criminal enterprise, conspiracy to commit murder, drug crimes, and other offenses. Zambada claims that he was brought to the U.S. after being abducted in Mexico while en route to a meeting with a government official.
Meanwhile, Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of “El Chapo,” has also been arrested in the U.S. and has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges in federal court in Chicago.
