Mexico’s fallen drug trafficking boss ‘El Mayo’ will face the same US judge who convicted ‘El Chapo’ and the former drug czar | International

New York is ready for Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. After a historic conviction 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 a Brooklyn court. The 76-year-old drug lord will face Judge Brian Cogan on Friday for the first time – the same judge who sentenced Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in 2019 and García Luna this week.

After his unexpected capture in July, U.S. authorities pushed for Zambada to be prosecuted in New York’s Eastern District Court, the epicenter of the legal offensive against Mexican cartels. El Mayo arrived at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center on September 12, amid a robust security operation. A day later, the boss was taken to court and pleaded not guilty to a series of 17 counts of drug trafficking, organized crime, illegal possession of firearms and money laundering. He was wearing a prisoner’s uniform and appeared to be in poor health.

“We allege that El Mayo built and directed for decades the Sinaloa Cartel’s network of fabricators, assassins, traffickers and money launderers responsible for kidnappings and assassinations in the United States and the United States. Mexico, and importing deadly quantities of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine into the United States,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. The courtroom was packed with U.S. law enforcement officials charged with overseeing the arrival of Zambada, a crime boss who evaded prison for more than five decades until his arrest at a small airport in New Mexico alongside Joaquín Guzmán López, alias “El Güero”, his godson. and son of his former partner.

The first hearing with Cogan 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 never managed to shake off – was considered a possible successor to his father, but he ended up collaborating with the American justice system and was a key witness in the trial against El Chapo in late 2018. Zambada Niebla spoke at length about his role under El Mayo and his father’s relationship with El Chapo while they were both heads of the cartel.

Vicentillo was sentenced in May 2019 to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty, but was released in 2021. The prosecution claims that as a cooperator, Zambada Niebla would be forced to testify against his own father if summoned . Pérez’s role as defense lawyer for both is problematic for authorities, and they want Cogan to speak out about it. El Mayo can retain Pérez’s services if he wishes, but he will have to recognize the conflict and accept the possibility that his own representative will not share information with him that could affect Vicentillo. For now, both are still his clients. These are the kinds of issues that are discussed at hearings at this stage of the legal process. It will still take months, if not 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 world in Mexico.

Meanwhile, across the US-Mexico border, the war between Los Mayos and Los Chapitos is wreaking havoc in Culiacán, the criminal organization’s historic stronghold. Guzmán and Zambada’s successors are fighting for control of the Sinaloa Cartel, after El Mayo accuses his godson Guzmán López of betraying him and turning him over to the United States. At the center of the conflict is Ovidio “El Ratón” Guzmán López, the younger brother of El Güero, who will also be heard next week in Illinois, after months of speculation about a possible negotiation with the authorities in exchange for a reduction in sentence.

The capture of El Mayo, which also exposed secret negotiations between U.S. agencies and Los Chapitos for years, brought tensions between Mexico and Washington to a high. After the diplomatic controversy and a conflict that left dozens dead and missing in Sinaloa, the unsettled scores between the two families that dominated the Sinaloa cartel – one of the most powerful criminal forces in the world – finally reached American courts. After sentencing El Chapo to life and García Luna to 38 years in prison, Judge Cogan will have the future of El Mayo in his hands. Everything will take place according to the rules of the game imposed by the United States.

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