Ismael El Mayo Zambada agreed to have his case transferred to the Federal Court in New York, so his transfer from a Texas prison is already being prepared in the United States, according to a document from the New York Prosecutor’s Office.
“The defendant has notified the government that he does not wish to oppose his transfer to New York,” the New York District Attorney’s Office informed Judge Kathleen Cardone of the District Court for the Western District of Texas today.
This comes just one day after a federal judge in Texas denied his transfer to be tried in New York, considering that the charges he faces in Texas are more important than those in New York.
The New York Attorney General’s Office clarified that the trial in Texas could only be carried out once the trial in New York is concluded and emphasized that it would be highly risky to move “El Mayo” between both states of the United States.
“In light of the transfer of the accused, the authority requested a suspension of the Speedy Trial to avoid the significant expenses and security risks associated with the transportation of the accused (Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada),” the document says.
The charge facing the co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel in New York is one of at least four he faces in the United States, including trafficking in fentanyl, a powerful opioid that has sparked a crisis in overdose deaths in the United States.
The “Mayo Zambada” trial will be brought to the same court where ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán was sentenced to life in prison.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office previously filed an unopposed motion to declare the case “complex,” given that the charges against “El Mayo” are voluminous.
The former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel was arrested last Thursday, July 25, in El Paso, Texas, in an operation in which the Mexican government claims it had nothing to do with.