Sinaloa Cartel boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada pleaded not guilty at his first hearing in federal court in New York. The cartel leader faces 17 charges, including multiple drug trafficking conspiracies. The drug trafficker was previously on trial in Texas federal court, but was transferred this week.
The hearing took place Friday morning before U.S. District Judge James Cho, who notified the defendants of the charges and ordered them held without bail, The Associated Press reported. ReportedBefore his arrest, Zambada had been a top leader of the Sinaloa Cartel for decades, operating with almost complete impunity.
Zambada was transferred from El Paso to New York this week after initially refusing to have his case transferred. Breitbart Texas reported that Zambada's arrest sparked widespread controversy because he was aboard a private jet that landed near El Paso, Texas, with Joaquin Guzmán López, one of the sons of imprisoned Sinaloa leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán. The two were handed over to waiting law enforcement on July 25.
A few days later, Zambada, a close friend of El Chapo and alleged godfather of Joaquin Guzman Lopez, revealed through one of his lawyers that he had been kidnapped, tied up and put on a plane.
The betrayal is believed to have been perpetrated by the sons of El Chapo, or Los Chapitos, who are seeking to seize control of the cartel and are believed to bear a grudge against Zambada, whom they blame for the arrest of their father, who is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.
The Mexican government has since launched a kidnapping and treason investigation, implicating the US government in the operation, Breitbart Texas reported. The investigation comes amid widespread accusations by journalists and rival politicians that Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador supported and protected the Sinaloa Cartel during his administration.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist at Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas' Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. Twitter and FacebookContact details: email address.
Brandon Darby is Managing Director and Editor in Chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas' Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and other senior Breitbart executives. Twitter and FacebookContact details: email address.
