Top Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada pleaded not guilty during his first hearing in a New York federal court. The cartel leader faces 17 charges, including various drug trafficking conspiracies. The drug trafficker previously had hearings in a Texas federal court but was transferred out this week.
The hearing took place on Friday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Cho, who notified him of the charges against him and ordered him held without bond, the AP reported. Before his arrest, Zambada had been a top leader with the Sinaloa Cartel for decades and had managed to operate with almost complete impunity.
Zambada was moved from El Paso to New York this week after initially refusing to have his case transferred. As Breitbart Texas reported, Zambada’s arrest sparked widespread controversy since he and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of the sons of jailed Sinaloa kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, were both in a private plane that landed near El Paso, Texas, They were delivered int the waiting hands of law enforcement on July 25.
Days later, through one of his attorneys, Zambada revealed that he had been kidnapped, tied up, and forced on the airplane. Zambada had been a close friend of El Chapo and is described as the godfather of Joaquin Guzman Lopez.
The perceived betrayal came from the sons of El Chapo or Los Chapitos, who are trying to make a power grab for control of the cartel and are believed to hold a grudge against Zambada. The sons blamed Zambada for the arrest of their father, who is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.
Since then, Mexico’s government started a kidnapping and treason investigation where they have hinted at the U.S. government having been behind the operation, Breitbart Texas reported. The investigation comes while Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been widely singled out by journalist and rival politicians as having favored and protected the Sinaloa Cartel during his administration.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.