By Ricardo Lezama 
For the past 12 hours, we have seen Mexican press reports promptly inform readers that El Mayo had successfully had a ruling in his favor. Specifically, El Mayo’s defense sought to not move the venue to New York due to the lack of a rationale explaining why those charges took precedence over his Texas Federal district court charges.
After nearly 6 hours, however, Zambada’s attorney confirmed that he would not oppose the transfer to New York, where multiple charges related to narcotics trafficking await him. As a result, legal proceedings are expected to unfold under the scrutiny of Judge Brian Cogan, signaling a deal. This is now positioning Zambada at the forefront of a judicial system grappling with the intricacies of organized crime and international drug networks. Much of the issue is to what extent these crimes were committed with knowledge of US prosecutors in exchange for information on other traffickers.
In case you are totally disconnected from significant historical figures in the world of illicit drug trafficking, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a prominent figure in the world of narcotraffic, has recently agreed to have his legal case transferred from El Paso, Texas, to the Brooklyn Federal Court in New York. This transition comes as part of ongoing legal proceedings connected to his multiple narcotics-related charges.
Zambada’s fate now lies in the hands of the Brooklyn court system, a significant shift that underscores the high-stakes nature of his situation and the powerful interests at play. However, the old Mexican capo is surely not playing a bad hand as he intimately knows about the webs of corruption existing within the United States and Mexico – the very same ones that allowed him to operate with impunity for 50 years.
Aside from local sentiments in the state of Sinaloa, the broader implications of Zambada’s legal struggles have triggered reflections on previous legal strategies employed by criminal defense attorneys. Notably, Frank A. Perez, who represented the infamous Vicentillo, is expected to lead Zambada’s defense, signaling a serious attempt to challenge the charges with a sophisticated legal approach that contrasts with past representation.
As El Mayo continues to navigate the legal landscape of the United States, the ramifications of his proceedings will undoubtedly influence the ongoing discussion about corruption, justice, and moral responsibility among political and social figures in Latin America.
El Mayo’s Exploits
El Mayo is an incredibly measured and calculated capo. While he is still capable of brutish violence, he often tempers the incidents of lower ranked capos in order to appease the authorities and the general public. Additionally, the capo was able to generate a sophisticated transport network that would allow him to wholesale tons of Colombian, Peruvian and Ecuadorian cocaine as his network was the only trusted operator in Mexico for decades.
Some of his most calculated moves that came from subordinate associates were the use of legitimate gas containers to import cocaine into the United States. Another was the ability to use freight trains to haul tons of cocaines to store in California, Illinois and elsewhere north of Mexico proper. The insatiable appetite for cocaine and other narcotics has been key for nullifying whatever potential upside to a capo arrest could be had in the US.