El Mayo, Mexican drug lord 'kidnapped' to US, pleads not guilty in court

However, El Mayo, 76, pleaded guilty to 17 other serious charges he faces, including money laundering and weapons charges, at a hearing on Friday in Brooklyn, New York. US Magistrate Judge James Cho ordered El Mayo held pending trial.

Wanted by law enforcement for more than two decades, El Mayo has been in US custody since July 25, when he landed on a private plane at an airport outside El Paso, Texas.

He was accompanied by another fugitive cartel leader, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the longtime leader of the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico. Photo: US State Department

Guzman Lopez is currently awaiting trial on a separate indictment in Chicago. He pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges in federal court in late July.

El Mayo wrote in a letter that he had been kidnapped in Mexico and brought to the United States by Guzmán López, the son of drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, who is also in US custody after being sentenced to life in prison in 2019.

If convicted on all charges, El Mayo faces life in prison and possibly the death penalty. In a letter to the judge, prosecutors called him “one of the world’s most notorious and dangerous drug traffickers.”

“Defendant maintained a military -grade arsenal to protect himself, his drugs, and his empire. Defendant’s heavily armed private security force served as personal bodyguards and protected drug shipments throughout Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and elsewhere,” they wrote.

“Furthermore, defendant maintained a group of ‘sicarios,’ or assassins, who carried out brutal assassinations and kidnappings to maintain discipline within his organization, fend off challenges from rivals, and silence those who cooperated with law enforcement.”

Prosecutors said that included ordering the murder of his own nephew just months ago. El Mayo pleaded not guilty at an earlier trial in Texas.

El Mayo's capture has sparked fighting between rival factions within Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. Gunfights have left several people dead. The fighting is believed to be between factions loyal to El Mayo and those of El Chapo.

Ngoc Anh (according to AP, AJ)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/el-mayo-trum-ma-tuy-mexico-bi-bat-coc-sang-my-khong-nhan-toi-trong-phien-toa-post312237.html