Mexican drug cartel leader will be transferred from Texas to New York

EL PASO, Texas — A federal judge said Friday that a powerful leader of Mexican drug cartel who was arrested in the US last summer, could be transferred from Texas to New York to face trial.

The order by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso came after attorneys for Ismael “El Mayo” Zambadaco-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, said a day earlier that she no longer opposed the transfer that had been requested by federal prosecutors.

Zambada, 76, was arrested in July along with Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán,” after landing in a private jet at an airport near El Paso. They face multiple drug charges in the U.S. and remain in prison.

Zambada, who is facing multiple charges, has appeared in a U.S. federal court in El Pasowhere he pleaded not guilty to several drug trafficking charges.

Cardone indicated in her order that he would complete the proceedings in New York before further proceedings in Texas.

The elder Guzmán was convicted in 2019 of drug and conspiracy charges in New York and sentenced to life in prison.

In New York, Zambada is accused of running a criminal organization, being involved in a murder conspiracy, drug offenses and other crimes.

Zambada said he ended up in the US after being kidnapped in his home country, en route to what he thought was a meeting with a Mexican official.

Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of notorious drug lord “El Chapo,” pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges Tuesday, days after a stunning arrest in the US.

Guzmán López appeared in federal court in Chicago, where he pleaded not guilty for drug trafficking and other charges.