By Luc Cohen and Drazen Jorgic
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, said to be one of the founders of the Sinaloa Cartel, pleaded not guilty to US drug charges on Friday after he and the son of a Mexican drug lord were arrested in Texas in dramatic fashion. an achievement for US law enforcement that could bring seismic changes to Mexico’s criminal landscape.
Court records show that Zambada ordered that a not guilty plea be entered on his behalf, which U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Berton accepted.
At a preliminary court appearance in a Texas courtroom on Friday, Zambada, believed to be in his 70s and confined to a wheelchair, was read his rights and the charges, according to a transcript.
He waived his right to attend next Wednesday’s arraignment. He will be required to appear at a status conference Thursday before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone, who will oversee the rest of the case, records show.
Zambada is accused of being one of the most important traffickers in Mexican history, having co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. El Chapo was extradited to the US in 2017 and sentenced to life in a maximum security prison.
Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, El Chapo’s son, are facing multiple charges in the United States for allegedly smuggling fentanyl and other drugs onto US streets. Fentanyl overdose has risen to become the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.
Guzman Lopez, who is in his 30s, will appear in court in Chicago next week, according to US officials.
The two men were taken into custody after they landed on a private plane in the El Paso area on Thursday.
Reuters was the first news organization to report the story, ahead of a Justice Department statement on Thursday evening confirming the two men had been taken into custody in El Paso.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden announced the arrests and vowed to continue fighting drug trafficking.
“Too many of our citizens have died as a result of exposure to fentanyl. Too many families are broken and suffering because of this devastating drug,” he said in a statement.
A TRAP
Guzman Lopez lured Zambada to the U.S., according to three current and former U.S. officials familiar with the operation, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the events.
“My client did not come to the U.S. voluntarily,” said Zambada’s attorney, Frank Perez.
US authorities have made drug lords their main targets, often making plea deals with them in exchange for information that leads to the capture of other high-ranking cartel figures.
Reuters could not immediately determine whether a plea deal had been reached.
Zambada and El Chapo’s sons have had a fractured relationship since their father was extradited in 2017, and the arrests of Zambada and Guzman Lopez could fuel instability or even violence in the heart of the northern state of Sinaloa.
Mexico’s defense ministry on Friday said it had sent 200 special forces soldiers to Sinaloa to boost security.
A bloody inter-cartel war erupted in 2008 when another senior Sinaloa leader was arrested. Family members accused El Chapo of arranging his arrest with Mexican authorities, sparking a violent rift between two powerful factions of the crime group.
Guzman Lopez is one of El Chapo’s four sons – known as Los Chapitos, or the Little Chapos – who inherited their father’s cartel faction. His brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, was arrested last year and extradited to the US
Rumors have spread on social media that Ovidio Guzman has been released, but the US ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, said he “remains in custody in the United States.”
In recent years, the cartel has become the biggest target for US authorities, who accuse the crime syndicate of being the biggest supplier of fentanyl to the US.
The Sinaloa cartel sells drugs to more than 50 countries around the globe and is one of the two most powerful organized crime groups in Mexico, according to US authorities.
The sons of Zambada and El Chapo belong to two different generations of traffickers, with different styles.
Zambada is known for being “old school”, avoiding the spotlight and operating in the shadows. El Chapo’s sons, by contrast, had a reputation as brilliant narcos who drew attention as they rose through the ranks of the cartel.
El Chapo’s sons are also known to be more violent and hot-tempered than Zambada, who has a reputation as a shrewd operator.
‘CRIMINAL ENTERPRISES’
The Texas charges to which Zambada was not convicted include furthering a criminal enterprise, conspiracy to import narcotics and money laundering.
The indictment, which was filed in April 2012, stated that members of the cartel under the leadership of Zambada and El Chapo kidnapped a Texas citizen in 2009 in response to the purchase of a seized shipment of marijuana, and kidnapped a US citizen and two members of his family in 2010. .
Both victims were killed, and their bodies were found in Juarez, Mexico, prosecutors said.
Mexican Security Minister Rosa Rodriguez said Mexico was informed of the arrest by the US government but Mexican authorities were not involved in the operation.
He said it was unclear whether the two men were arrested or surrendered to US authorities.
“The Mexican government did not participate in this arrest or surrender,” Rodriguez said at a press conference.