Guatemalan prison guards freed after being held hostage by gang members
Members of Guatemala's two largest gangs — Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha — began rioting Tuesday in two prisons, demanding the return of 10 leaders who had been transferred to another facility and placed in solitary confinement.
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Toronto Sun
14 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Former Sinaloa cartel kingpin Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada set to plead guilty
Published Aug 18, 2025 • 2 minute read This undated image provided by the U.S. Department of State shows Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. Photo by U.S. Department of State via AP / AP NEW YORK — Former Mexican cartel kingpin Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada is set to plead guilty next week in a drug trafficking case that accuses him of ordering torture, plotting murders and flooding the U.S. with cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A Brooklyn federal judge on Monday scheduled an Aug. 25 change of plea hearing for Zambada, a longtime leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. The development comes two weeks after federal prosecutors said they wouldn't seek the death penalty against him. Zambada, 77, pleaded not guilty last year to drug trafficking and related charges, including gun and money laundering offences. Under Zambada and co-founder Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's leadership, prosecutors allege, the Sinaloa cartel evolved from a regional player into the largest drug trafficking organization in the world. Judge Brian M. Cogan's order on Monday didn't provide details about Zambada's guilty plea and didn't list the charges he's expected to plead guilty to. The same judge sentenced Guzman to life behind bars after he was convicted on drug trafficking charges in 2019. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Messages seeking comment were left for Zambada's lawyers. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn declined to comment. Zambada was arrested in Texas last year after what he has described as a kidnapping in Mexico. Sought by U.S. law enforcement for more than two decades, he was taken into custody after arriving in a private plane at a Texas airport with Guzman's son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez. Guzman Lopez has pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in Chicago; his brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, pleaded guilty last month. According to prosecutors, Zambada presided over a vast and violent operation, with an arsenal of military-grade weapons, a private security force akin to an army, and a corps of 'sicarios,' or hitmen, who carried out assassinations, kidnappings and torture. Just months before his arrest, he ordered the murder of his own nephew, prosecutors said. On Aug. 5, prosecutors told Cogan in a letter that Attorney General Pam Bondi had directed them not to pursue the death penalty for Zambada. — Associated Press reporter Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report. Columnists Columnists World Canada Sunshine Girls
Toronto Star
44 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Burkina Faso junta declares UN coordinator persona non grata over child rights report
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The military junta in Burkina Faso on Monday declared the United Nations resident coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak as 'persona non grata' over an official U.N. report that accused jihadi groups and government forces of abuses against children. In a statement, the government accused Flore-Smereczniak of participating in the preparation of the report — titled Children and Armed Conflict in Burkina Faso — which it says is 'without evidence or supporting documentation' and that conveyed 'serious and false information.'
Winnipeg Free Press
44 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Former Sinaloa cartel kingpin Ismael ‘El Mayo' Zambada set to plead guilty
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Mexican cartel kingpin Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada is set to plead guilty next week in a drug trafficking case that accuses him of ordering torture, plotting murders and flooding the U.S. with cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs. A Brooklyn federal judge on Monday scheduled an Aug. 25 change of plea hearing for Zambada, a longtime leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. The development comes two weeks after federal prosecutors said they wouldn't seek the death penalty against him. Zambada, 77, pleaded not guilty last year to drug trafficking and related charges, including gun and money laundering offenses. Under Zambada and co-founder Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's leadership, prosecutors allege, the Sinaloa cartel evolved from a regional player into the largest drug trafficking organization in the world. Judge Brian M. Cogan's order on Monday didn't provide details about Zambada's guilty plea and didn't list the charges he's expected to plead guilty to. The same judge sentenced Guzmán to life behind bars after he was convicted on drug trafficking charges in 2019. Messages seeking comment were left for Zambada's lawyers. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn declined to comment. Zambada was arrested in Texas last year after what he has described as a kidnapping in Mexico. Sought by U.S. law enforcement for more than two decades, he was taken into custody after arriving in a private plane at a Texas airport with Guzmán's son, Joaquín Guzmán López. Guzmán López has pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in Chicago; his brother, Ovidio Guzmán López, pleaded guilty last month. According to prosecutors, Zambada presided over a vast and violent operation, with an arsenal of military-grade weapons, a private security force akin to an army, and a corps of 'sicarios,' or hitmen, who carried out assassinations, kidnappings and torture. Just months before his arrest, he ordered the murder of his own nephew, prosecutors said. On Aug. 5, prosecutors told Cogan in a letter that Attorney General Pam Bondi had directed them not to pursue the death penalty for Zambada. __ Associated Press reporter Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.
