Latest news with #Zambada
Int'l Business Times
21-04-2025
- Int'l Business Times
Sinaloa Cartel Co-Founder 'El Mayo' Could Seek Deal With U.S. Authorities To Avoid Death Penalty
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada could seek a deal with U.S. federal authorities to avoid the death penalty as he readies to appear before a court. Zambada, captured last July, is set to take part in the hearing on Tuesday in Brooklyn. He faces numerous charges, including drug trafficking and murder conspiracy. The drug lord had pleaded not guilty to charges against him in Texas and New York, but his strategy has seemingly changed since the death penalty became a concrete possibility. "Mr. Zambada doesn't want to go to trial and is willing to accept responsibility for a charge that doesn't carry out the death penalty," his lawyer, Frank Perez, told Reuters back in February. A spokesperson for the Brooklyn District Attorney declined to comment on the statements from Zambada's lawyer, but prosecutors had reportedly initiated negotiations to secure his cooperation in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. Concretely, Zambada faces 17 charges in New York, including drug-trafficking, conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that Zambada played a central role in trafficking fentanyl into the United States, contributing to a surge in overdose deaths. Although New York abolished the death penalty in 2004, federal charges allow for its application in cases involving mass murders or crimes comparable to terrorism. Zambada, 75, is the only Mexican defendant explicitly charged with fentanyl trafficking. The drug lord is also requesting to be repatriated to Mexico, claiming he was unlawfully transferred to the United States without a formal extradition process. The Claudia Sheinbaum administration also revealed in February that it has requested Zambada's extradition up to four times since he was captured. Zambada's defense contends that his abduction and subsequent transfer to the U.S. violated Mexico's sovereignty. He claimed he was taken from Culiacán, Sinaloa, and transported to Texas in a private aircraft with the involvement of Joaquin Guzmán López, son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, as the faction of the cartel loyal to him continues to clash with those answering to Zambada. Originally published on Latin Times
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mexico says U.S. has not responded to request to return accused drug lord
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz said Tuesday that the U.S. government has not yet responded to Mexico's request to extradite accused senior drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada back to Mexico, after he was flown to the U.S. and arrested there last year. Gertz noted that late last year the U.S. government confirmed it had received the Mexican government's extradition request for Zambada, the co-founder of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel along with jailed kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Zambada was taken into custody last July in the United States at a New Mexico airfield near El Paso, Texas, along with one of Guzman's sons, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, in what was then hailed as a major coup for U.S. law enforcement. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. In September, Zambada pleaded not guilty to more than a dozen criminal charges in a New York court, including drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons charges. He has been jailed pending trial. Zambada's lawyer told Reuters on Monday that he is willing to plead guilty in a deal with prosecutors in the United States if the arrangement spares him from the death penalty.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Yahoo
Alleged Mexican kingpin 'El Mayo' wants plea deal, says lawyer
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Accused Mexican drug kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada is willing to take a plea deal if it means prosecutors do not seek the death penalty, his lawyer told Reuters on Monday. This would mean a change in Zambada's position after the 76 year-old pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges back in September in a New York courthouse. "Mr. Zambada does not want to go to trial and is willing to accept responsibility for a charge that does not include the death penalty," lawyer Frank Perez said. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. "El Mayo" faces 17 felony counts, which include drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons charges, and has being jailed pending trial.
Reuters
24-02-2025
- Reuters
Alleged Mexican kingpin 'El Mayo' wants plea deal, says lawyer
MEXICO CITY, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Accused Mexican drug kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada is willing to take a plea deal if it means prosecutors do not seek the death penalty, his lawyer told Reuters on Monday. This would mean a change in Zambada's position after the 76 year-old pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges back in September in a New York courthouse. "Mr. Zambada does not want to go to trial and is willing to accept responsibility for a charge that does not include the death penalty," lawyer Frank Perez said. "El Mayo" faces 17 felony counts, which include drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons charges, and has being jailed pending trial.
Arab Times
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
Mexico reviewing request from cartel leader jailed in US to be sent back
MEXICO CITY, Feb 22, (AP): Mexico's government is reviewing a petition by Ismael "El Mayo' Zambada, a longtime leader of the Sinaloa cartel who is jailed in the United States, to be returned to Mexico for trial, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday. The president confirmed Mexico's consulate in New York had received the request. Sheinbaum noted that Mexico's attorney general was already investigating the circumstances of how Zambada was arrested in the US with another Sinaloa cartel leader by authorities near El Paso, Texas in July. He is awaiting trial. "No one is defending this person,' Sheinbaum said. "Beyond the person and his crimes … the issue is how he was detained.' Zambada has maintained that he was kidnapped by Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of former cartel leader Joaquín "El Chapo' Guzmán, and flown to the United States. The Mexican government shortly after said it was opening an investigation of possible treason against those involved in turning over a Mexican citizen to foreign agents. Guzmán López was also arrested by US authorities on arrival in Texas. In his request, Zambada argued that the legality of his entering the United States has not been verified and asked that he instead be tried in Mexico, according to a report in Mexico's Reforma newspaper Friday. He also asked the Mexican government to intervene so that the death penalty is not a possibility in his case, the report said. In January, US prosecutors said they were discussing a possible plea deal with Zambada. Zambada is one of the most notorious drug traffickers in the world and a leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel for decades alongside "El Chapo." He is known for running the cartel's smuggling operations while keeping a lower profile. Mexico could ask that the death penalty not be on the table for Zambada's case since there is no death penalty in Mexico, but normally the US only repatriates convicted criminals after they serve their sentences. An exception came in November 2020 during the first administration of President Donald Trump. Drug trafficking charges against Mexico's former Defense Secretary Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos were dropped after Mexico protested his arrest in Los Angeles. The US returned Cienfuegos to Mexico where he was promptly exonerated.
