Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García had his second appearance on Thursday in what will be a long and slow saga in the Federal Court of El Paso.
Hours before the hearing, which Zambada attended in a wheelchair and wearing a hospital bracelet, Judge Kathleen Cardone classified the case, at the request of the prosecution and the defense, as “complex.”
This means that it will not be resolved within the maximum legal period of 70 days, but could even take years, since the accusation dates back to 2012 and includes charges against 24 people, including his former partner Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Visibly emaciated after his arrest on July 25 at the Santa Teresa airport, Zambada appeared before Judge Cardone for less than seven minutes.
Faced with a potential conflict of interest, given that his lawyers represented one of his sons in a federal drug trafficking case, Zambada simply said “Yes” when asked if he would give up any concerns in this regard.
As to whether Zambada García would be tried with other prisoners in these cases, prosecutors from the Western District of Texas, who are handling the case, said they were working on whether to try “El Mayo” separately or with his co-defendants.
The prosecution said they are reviewing all options, but no clear answer was given for now, but hinted that they could lean towards the fact that they could separate the cases. This comes after one of the co-defendants has a hearing scheduled for January 24, 2025.
Zambada, 76 years old, who faces 12 charges of drug trafficking, murder and criminal association, was summoned for September 9 of this year, at 1:00 p.m. by Judge Cardone, of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Of the co-defendants, 11 have already been tried in the United States, three have died and the rest have pending accounts with the American justice system.
Dressed in a navy blue tracksuit with the Socorro High School soccer team’s logo on a sweatshirt and orange cross-country tennis shoes, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, known as “El Mayo,” or “Don Mayo,” was guarded at all times by four US Marshals officers.
At least three of his family members were seen in the courtroom during the brief hearing, bearing a passing resemblance to the man detained in unclear circumstances by federal agents last week at Doña Ana County International Airport in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the federal courthouse.
Zambada arrived at the Federal Court facilities around 7:30 in the morning, guarded by a police convoy manned by elements of the US Marshals corporation. Previously, agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service – ICE –, dependent on the Department of Homeland Security, patrolled the surroundings supported by dogs.
Cardone called the case “complex” because there were several co-defendants in the criminal case, considering that normal deadlines for court filings do not apply and the case, which includes charges of running a continuing criminal enterprise, money laundering, conspiracy to possess narcotics and other crimes, could take a long time to reach its conclusion.
Prior to the hearing, the judge ordered that Zambada, who previously pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, remain detained without bail, and although she reflected out loud on Thursday, she did not decide whether to try him separately or with other alleged co-conspirators.
For now, the Mexican drug lord will remain in a federal prison here in El Paso, Texas, at least until September 9. The next hearing will determine whether the charges against him in other federal courts in the country are cumulative or are being pursued independently. The accused also has criminal records in the states of Illinois, New York, Washington, DC, California and Arizona.
Although ‘El Mayo’ looked visibly in poor health, he was always attentive to what was being discussed in court, thanks to the simultaneous translation system supported by an interpreter. At all times he remained staring straight ahead without seeing those present, except for his family on a couple of occasions. To one side were his two lawyers.
Zambada is represented by Frank A. Perez, a Dallas-based attorney, and Ray Velarde, a native and resident of El Paso. According to his public profile, Perez has more than 25 years of experience as an attorney, specifically in drug trafficking cases and civil litigation. Currently, his resume describes him as an international criminal defense attorney.
In a recent telephone conversation and statement sent to CNN, Frank Perez said that Zambada, 76, was kidnapped by Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of the sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the other co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, who was extradited to the United States in 2017 and is serving a life sentence in a US federal prison.
Zambada’s lawyer strongly denied any suggestion previously raised by Mexican officials that his client might have turned himself in of his own free will or come voluntarily to the United States as part of a deal.
“Joaquin Guzman Lopez forcibly kidnapped my client. He was ambushed, thrown to the ground and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquin. They tied his legs and placed a black bag over his head,” Perez said in a statement sent to CNN.
He continued: “Then they put him in the back of a van and took him to a landing strip. There they forced him onto a plane, with his legs tied to the seat by Joaquín, and took him to the United States against his will. The only people on the plane were the pilot, Joaquín and my client,” Pérez added. Yesterday, Thursday, and in response to questions from reporters, he declined to comment on the matter.
At the end of the hearing, Perez and Velarde left the federal court facilities in a hurry and although they were approached by a crowd of representatives of various local, national and international media, they refused to comment on the case their client is facing and the legal process.
What can you tell us about this hearing? This reporter asked Frank A. Perez, and he simply replied: “Nothing,” before continuing his journey to his pickup truck parked on Myrtle and Kansas streets… “In the future we will declare what happened, but right now is not the time,” he said to another of the journalists who approached him about whether the Mexican prosecutor’s office is investigating.
Alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada remains in solitary confinement at an El Paso prison facility by order of U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne T. Berton.
This was announced through an arrest warrant issued on Tuesday, July 30, in the Federal Court of the Western District of Texas, in its headquarters in El Paso.
“Accordingly, the Court finds that there are no conditions or combinations of conditions of release that would ensure both the defendant’s appearance and the safety of the community,” Berton said. “Accordingly, the defendant is ordered held without bail in the custody of the Attorney General for confinement in a correctional facility separate, to the extent possible, from persons awaiting sentencing or who have been convicted and awaiting appeal.”
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