Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Mexican drug cartel leader 'El Mayo' Zambada makes a court appearance in Texas

Share
EL PASO, Texas -

A powerful Mexican drug cartel leader on Thursday made his second appearance in federal court in Texas after being taken into U.S. custody last week.

Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, 76, used a wheelchair for the hearing before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso. Zambada, the longtime leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, eluded authorities for decades until a plane carrying him and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of notorious drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman," landed at an airport near El Paso on July 25. Both men were arrested and remain jailed. They are charged in the U.S. with various drug crimes.

Discussions during the short hearing Thursday included whether Zambada would be tried with co-defendants or separately. He is being held without bond and pleaded not guilty during a short hearing last week, where he also used a wheelchair.

His next hearing date was set for Sept. 9. His attorneys declined comment after Thursday's hearing.

One of his attorneys, Frank Perez, previously has alleged his client was kidnapped by Guzman Lopez and brought to the U.S. aboard a private plane. Guzman Lopez, 38, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to drug trafficking and other charges in federal court in Chicago.

Zambada was thought to be more involved in day-to-day operations of the cartel than his better-known and flashier boss, "El Chapo," who was sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. in 2019.

Zambada is charged in a number of U.S. cases, including in New York and California. Prosecutors brought a new indictment against him in New York in February, describing him as the "principal leader of the criminal enterprise responsible for importing enormous quantities of narcotics into the United States."

The capture of Zambada and Guzman Lopez has fuelled theories about how federal authorities pulled it off and prompted Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to take the unusual step of issuing a public appeal to drug cartels not to fight each other.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Two and a half years after losing her best friend and first love to suicide, Brooke Ford shared her story of grief and resilience at the CMHA Windsor-Essex Suicide Awareness Walk.

An Ottawa driver has been charged with stunt driving after being caught going 154 km/h on Highway 417, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

opinion

opinion How to make the most out of your TFSA

The Tax-Free Savings Account can be a powerful savings tool and investment vehicle. Financial contributor Christopher Liew explains how they work and how to take full advantage of them so you can reach your financial goals faster.

Local Spotlight

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.