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

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

Wanted by law enforcement for more than two decades, El Mayo has been in U.S. custody since July 25, when he landed on a private jet 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 taken to the United States by Guzmán López. Guzmán López is the son of drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, a co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel who is also incarcerated in the United States after being sentenced to life in prison in 2019.

If convicted on all charges, El Mayo faces life in prison and the possibility of 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 was used as personal bodyguards and to protect drug shipments throughout Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and elsewhere,” they wrote.

“Furthermore, the defendant maintained a team 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.”

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

El Mayo's capture has sparked fighting between rival factions of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. Several people have been killed in gun battles. 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