Author: Luc Cohen and Drazen Jojic
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, co-founder of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel, said on Friday he would not be indicted on U.S. drug charges. He has pleaded not guilty after being arrested in Texas with the son of a Mexican drug lord.
Zambada directed that a plea of not guilty be entered on his behalf, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Burton accepted the plea, court records show.
Zambada, who is believed to be in his 70s and uses a wheelchair, was read his rights and charges during his first appearance in a Texas court on Friday, according to transcripts.
He waived his right to stand trial next Wednesday. Records show he will be required to appear in person for a status conference next Thursday before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone, who will handle the remainder of the case.
Zambada’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zambada is accused of being one of the most influential drug traffickers in Mexican history. He co-founded the Sinaloa drug cartel with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. “El Chapo” was extradited to the United States in 2017 and is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison.
Joaquín Guzman Lopez, the son of Zambada and El Chapo, faces multiple charges in the United States for funneling large quantities of fentanyl and other drugs onto American streets. Fentanyl overdoses have surged and become the leading cause of death among Americans ages 18 to 45.
Guzman Lopez, who is in his 30s, will appear in court in Chicago next week, according to a U.S. official.
The two were taken into custody Thursday after their private plane landed in the El Paso area.
Reuters was the first news organization to report the story, and the Justice Department issued a statement late Thursday confirming that the two men were detained in El Paso.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced the arrests on Friday and vowed to continue the fight against drug trafficking.
“Too many of our citizens have lost their lives to the scourge of fentanyl. Too many families have been broken and in pain due to this devastating drug,” he said in a statement.
trap
Guzman Lopez lured Zambada to the United States, according to three current and former U.S. officials familiar with the operation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the events.
U.S. authorities have made drug lords a priority target and often strike plea deals with them in exchange for information that leads to the capture of other senior figures in drug cartels.
Reuters could not immediately confirm that a plea deal had been reached.
Zambada and El Chapo’s sons have had a strained relationship since their father’s extradition in 2017, and the arrests of Zambada and Guzmán Lopez could spark instability and even violence in the heart of the northern state of Sinaloa .
Mexico’s Defense Ministry said on Friday it had sent 200 special forces troops to Sinaloa to strengthen security.
In 2008, another senior Sinaloa leader was detained and a bloody cartel war broke out. His family accuses El Chapo of orchestrating the arrest with Mexican authorities, sparking a violent rift between two powerful factions of the criminal group.
Guzmán Lopez is one of four sons of El Chapo, known as Los Chapitos or the Little El Chapo, who inherited their father’s drug cartel faction. His brother Ovidio Guzman Lopez was arrested last year and extradited to the United States
Rumors circulated on social media that Ovidio Guzman had been released, but U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement that he “remains detained in the United States.”
In recent years, the Sinaloa drug cartel has become the biggest target of U.S. authorities, who accuse the criminal group of being the largest supplier of fentanyl to the United States.
According to U.S. authorities, the Sinaloa Cartel traffics drugs to more than 50 countries around the world and is one of the two most powerful organized crime groups in Mexico.
The sons of Zambada and El Chapo belong to different generations of human traffickers with different styles.
Zambada was known as an “old-school” drug lord who avoided the spotlight and operated in the shadows. El Chapo’s sons, by contrast, were known as flamboyant drug kingpins who attracted attention as they rose through the ranks of the cartel.
El Chapo’s Sons were also more violent and hot-headed than Zambada, who had a reputation as a shrewd operator.
“criminal enterprise”
Zambada has pleaded not guilty to Texas charges including continuing criminal activity, conspiracy to import drugs and money laundering.
The indictment filed in April 2012 alleges that members of the drug cartel led by Zambada and El Chapo kidnapped a Texas resident in 2009 to recover losses from a seized marijuana shipment and kidnapped a man in 2010. U.S. citizens and two of their family members.
Prosecutors said both victims were murdered and their bodies were found in Juarez, Mexico.
Mexican Security Minister Rosa Rodriguez said the U.S. government had informed Mexico of the detentions, but Mexican authorities were not involved in the operation.
She also said it was unclear whether the two men were captured or surrendered to U.S. authorities.
“The Mexican government had no involvement in this detention or surrender,” Rodriguez told a news conference.
