El Mayo Zambada Agrees to Transfer to New York for Drug Charges, Mexican Authorities Allege Kidnapping

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the powerful co-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, has agreed to be transferred from Texas to New York to face federal drug trafficking charges, CBS News reports, citing a court filing.

Zambada, 76, was arrested in July alongside Joaquín Guzmán López, son of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, at an airport near El Paso.

Initially, federal prosecutors in Texas sought to move Zambada to Brooklyn, New York, where his alleged partner in crime, the elder Guzmán, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2019. After an initial denial of the transfer by a federal judge in El Paso, Zambada and his legal team consented to the move, paving the way for a trial in New York.

The transfer is pending approval from US District Judge Kathleen Cardone, who has canceled a status hearing scheduled for Monday in El Paso. Zambada faces charges in multiple locations, including El Paso, where he has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking allegations. The case against him in Texas will proceed after the New York trial, if prosecutors get their wish.

In New York, Zambada faces a range of charges, including running a continuing criminal enterprise, murder conspiracy, drug offenses, and other crimes.

Mexican authorities are pursuing charges against Guzmán López for allegedly kidnapping Zambada. The younger Guzmán reportedly intended to turn himself in to US authorities, but may have abducted Zambada as a bargaining chip for a more favorable plea deal. Federal prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for Guzmán López on kidnapping charges and also cited another charge under Mexican law that defines the action as treason. This clause seems to have been motivated by a similar case involving a Mexican doctor accused of participating in the torture and killing of a DEA agent in 1985.

The official statement from federal prosecutors does not mention Guzmán López’s affiliation with the “Chapitos,” a faction of the Sinaloa cartel comprised of El Chapo’s sons. This faction is believed to be responsible for smuggling millions of doses of fentanyl into the United States, contributing to a staggering 70,000 overdose deaths annually. A 2023 indictment by the US Justice Department alleges that the Chapitos and their associates have engaged in brutal tactics like torture, using corkscrews, electrocution, and hot chiles against rivals, some of whom were even fed, alive or dead, to tigers.

Last month, authorities confirmed fears of repercussions stemming from the detention of Zambada and Guzmán, citing the murders of at least 10 individuals in Sinaloa, believed to be connected to infighting within the cartel.

The elder Guzmán, El Chapo, is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison in Colorado. Last year, he sent an “SOS” message to Mexico’s president, claiming he was subjected to “psychological torment” in prison.