Sinaloa Cartel's 'El Mayo' To Face Federal Trial In New York

Sinaloa Cartel drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who was taken into custody last month at New Mexico airport, will soon be moved from El Paso to New York for a federal trial.

Zambada's lawyer Frank Perez confirmed in an email to the Border Report that the case will be transferred to the Eastern District of New York. However, he did not mention the transfer date.

The Mexican drug lord and another cartel leader, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, were taken into custody on July 25. While federal officials flew Guzman Lopez to Chicago a day after his arrest, Zambada was kept in El Paso to face multiple charges, including conspiracy and drug trafficking, the New York Times reported.

Even though Zambada waived some hearings in El Paso, he had before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone, following which the latter scheduled his next court hearing for Sept. 9 in El Paso.

However, Zambada has pending charges in Brooklyn, Illinois, California and Washington D.C.

The Department of Justice wants to try Zambada in the same court in New York where his former partner, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was tried and convicted, as per the Border Report.

Following the arrest, Perez claimed last week that his client was "forcibly kidnapped" and taken on a plane to the United States, where he was arrested.

"My client neither surrendered nor negotiated any terms with the U.S. government," he said at that time. "Joaquin Guzmán López forcibly kidnapped my client. He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquin."

Many sources reported that Guzman Lopez planned to surrender and thought he would get better treatment by bringing another major cartel boss with him. Guzman López's father, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, was arrested in Mexico in 2017 and was sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison in 2019.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement, "Both men are facing multiple charges in the United States for leading the Cartel's criminal operations, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks."