Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada has been taken to Brooklyn New York for trial

Zambada has been held in an undisclosed location in Texas but will soon be moved to New York, where his case will be handed to federal prosecutors in Brooklyn in the same courthouse where El Chapo was tried and convicted in 2019.

In the coming weeks and possibly days, Zambada will be transferred to New York from Texas, one official told CNN, where an initial hearing would likely take place.

The 76-year-old is being held without bond after pleading not guilty July 26 to seven federal criminal counts, including continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering.

Indictments have been brought against Zambada in New York, California, Texas, Illinois and Washington, DC, and several of those districts wanted to prosecute, sources told CNN.

Several US attorneys wanted first crack at Zambada but many didn’t have the proper security infrastructure necessary for such a high-profile case, a federal official told CNN. The decision came down to three districts: one in California, one in Florida and one in New York.

New York’s Eastern District won out, with its proven track record of successfully convicting El Chapo and the security built specifically for his case.

Experts have warned the capture of the alleged cartel bosses won’t necessarily curb drug flow to the United States or violence in Mexico – and could exacerbate it. But information that could be gleaned by the US from these leaders, especially Zambada, could be worth the upheaval it causes among Mexican cartels, some experts have said.

Source: CNN

The Mazatlan Post