The reported co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García is expected to face trial on federal charges in the same New York City courtroom where Joaquín Guzmán Loera, otherwise known as ‘El Chapo,’ was tried and convicted in 2019.
Currently, Zambada García is being held in El Paso, Texas, where he was initially expected to be tried. However, The New York Times reported some federal officials are concerned about the potential security threats of having Zambada García jailed in El Paso, which is only separated from Mexico and its expansive cartels by the width of the Rio Grande.
On July 25, Zambada García and a second cartel leader, Joaquín Guzmán Lopez, were taken into U.S. federal custody in a New Mexico airport just across the state line from El Paso. Guzmán Lopez, who is Guzmán Loera’s son, and accomplices reportedly abducted and tied up Zambada, then flew him to the United States against his will, Zambada García’s attorney Frank Perez said.
Federal officials flew Guzmán Lopez to Chicago a day after his arrest, where he will be prosecuted along with his brother Ovidio Guzmán López, who was extradited to the United States in September.
Zambada García remained in El Paso to face a slew of charges including conspiracy and drug trafficking. He has waived some hearings in El Paso but also appeared in person in U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone’s courtroom, who set Zamabada García’s next court hearing for September 9 in El Paso.
However, The Times reported the Department of Justice wants to try Zambada García in the same Brooklyn courtroom where his old partner Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka “El Chapo,” was tried and convicted. Zambada García currently has pending charges in Brooklyn, Illinois, California and Washington, D.C.
In an email to Border Report, Zambada García’s attorney Frank Perez confirmed the impending change of locations. “My understanding is that the case will be transferred to the Eastern District of New York,” Perez wrote.
There is not yet a reported date for Zamabada García’s transfer or for when the trial is scheduled to begin.
