Melissa Velasquez Loaiza
(CNN Español) — The alleged co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, will be transferred from El Paso, Texas, to Brooklyn, New York, to face trial, his lawyer Frank Perez confirmed to CNN. The exact date of the transfer is still unknown.
Zambada, 76, will face trial in the same federal court in the Eastern District of New York where other prominent figures linked to drug trafficking have been convicted, including former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2019.
How did Mayo Zambada manage to evade justice for so many years?
In this same court, Vicente Zambada Niebla, known as “El Vicentillo”, son of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and member of the Sinaloa cartel, was also sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2019.
Also in a New York court, Genaro García Luna, former Secretary of Public Security of Mexico during the six-year term of President Felipe Calderón, was found guilty of his involvement in drug trafficking and corruption and is awaiting sentencing.
Zambada appeared in federal court in Texas on Aug. 1 for his most recent hearing following his arrest in late July in a case involving one of the world’s most powerful and lethal drug trafficking organizations.
