Mexico’s fallen narco boss ‘El Mayo’ must appear before the same US judge who convicted ‘El Chapo’ and ex-drug czar | International

New York is ready for Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. After a historic verdict against former Mexican drug czar Genaro García Luna, the time has come for the co-founder and “boss of bosses” of the Sinaloa cartel to appear in court in Brooklyn. The 76-year-old drug lord will face Judge Brian Cogan for the first time on Friday – the same judge who convicted Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in 2019 and García Luna this week.

After his unexpected arrest in July, US authorities pushed for Zambada to be prosecuted in the Eastern District Court of New York, the epicenter of the legal offensive against the Mexican cartels. El Mayo arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on September 12, amid a heavy security operation. A day later, the boss was indicted and pleaded not guilty to a series of seventeen charges of drug trafficking, organized crime, illegal possession of firearms and money laundering. He appeared in prison uniform and appeared to be in poor health.

“We allege that El Mayo built and for decades directed the Sinaloa Cartel’s network of manufacturers, murderers, human traffickers and money launderers, responsible for kidnapping and murdering people in both the United States and Mexico, and importing lethal quantities fentanyl, heroin, meth and cocaine into the United States,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. The courtroom was packed with U.S. law enforcement officials tasked with overseeing the arrival of Zambada, a crime boss who dodged prison for more than five decades until he was arrested at a small airport in New Mexico, along with Joaquín Guzmán López, aka ‘ El Güero’, his godson. and son of his former partner.

Cogan’s first hearing will focus on a potential “conflict of interest.” Prosecutors pointed out to the judge that Frank Pérez, El Mayo’s lawyer, also represented his son Vicente Zambada Niebla. For years, ‘Vicentillo’ – a nickname he has never been able to let go of – was seen as a possible successor to his father, but he eventually started cooperating with the American legal system and was a key witness in the trial of El Chapo at the end of 2018. Zambada Niebla spoke at length about his role under El Mayo and his father’s relationship with El Chapo while both were at the helm of the cartel.

Vicentillo was sentenced to 15 years in prison in May 2019 after pleading guilty, but was released in 2021. The prosecutor claims that as an employee, Zambada Niebla would be obligated to testify against his own father if subpoenaed. Pérez’s role as defending attorney for both is problematic for authorities, and they want Cogan to speak out. El Mayo can retain Pérez’s services if he wants, but he would have to acknowledge the conflict and accept the possibility that his own representative will not share information with him that could impact Vicentillo. To date, both are still his clients. These are the types of issues that are discussed during the hearings at this point in the judicial process. It will take months, even years, to know whether the case against El Mayo will go to trial and whether there will be room for new revelations about the current state of the criminal universe in Mexico.

Meanwhile, across the U.S.-Mexico border, the war between Los Mayos and Los Chapitos has sown chaos in Culiacán, the criminal organization’s historic bastion. Guzmán and Zambada’s successors are fighting for control of the Sinaloa cartel after El Mayo accused his godson Guzmán López of betraying him and extraditing him to the United States. At the center of the dispute is Ovidio “El Ratón” Guzmán López, El Güero’s younger brother, who will also hold a hearing in Illinois next week, after months of speculation about possible negotiations with authorities in exchange for a reduced sentence.

The capture of El Mayo, which also exposed years of secret negotiations between US agencies and Los Chapitos, increased tensions between Mexico and Washington to the limit. Following the diplomatic controversy and a conflict that left dozens dead and missing in Sinaloa, the unresolved conflicts between the two families that dominated the Sinaloa Cartel – one of the most powerful criminal forces in the world – have finally reached the US courts. After imposing a life sentence on El Chapo and 38 years in prison on García Luna, Judge Cogan will hold the future of El Mayo in his hands. Everything will proceed according to the rules imposed by the United States.

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