A Texas judge has rejected a request by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prioritize the case against Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada in New York City over the one she is handling.
Concretely, judge Kathleen Cardone of El Paso said there is no need to take imprisoned drug lord to New York City again after having an initial hearing where he was read the charges.
She argued that since he was flown there once, there is no need to have another one, but the DOJ can try through other means. One of the possibilities, having the Texas charges dismissed so the NYC ones will have preeminence, will take time and the defendant can also oppose it.
"El Mayo" has indeed opposed the possibility, rejecting such a motion in late August. When weighing on the issue for the first time, judge Cardone said the DOJ did not "make any attempt to articulate why Mr. Zambada García should be removed from the Western District Court of Texas, where the process is already ongoing, to be transferred to the Eastern District of New York."
Cardone also argued that there are no precedents justifying why the charges "El Mayo" faces in New York should supersede those from Texas, where there is already a preliminary schedule for the legal proceedings.
Zambada's indictment in the Eastern District of New York, updated earlier this year, includes 17 charges including fentanyl trafficking—a pressing concern in the United States, which has seen a devastating rise in overdose deaths due to the drug. He has already pleaded not guilty to to racketeering conspiracy, drug conspiracy and other charges in Texas.
"As the co-founder and current leader of the largest, most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world, Ismael Zambada García is accused of supplying fentanyl to the United States at a time when the lethal narcotic has claimed lives at a devastating rate. For decades, the ruthlessly violent Sinaloa Cartel has continued its deadly scourge with the pervasive trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and other synthetic drugs into the U.S.," stated HSI Acting Assistant Director Arvelo. "HSI New York and our law enforcement partners will not stop until we bring Zambada Garcia to justice on behalf of his countless victims."
Should he be transferred to New York, "El Mayo's" trial will likely follow a path similar to that of El Chapo Guzmán, who spent 27 months in custody in New York before his trial began in November 2018.
After a three-month trial, El Chapo was found guilty on all counts and was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 30 years, currently serving his sentence at the Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. Zambada, now 76 years old, faces the prospect of spending his remaining years in a similar high-security facility.
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