Mexican drug cartel leader agrees to be transferred from Texas to New York

A powerful Mexican drug cartel leader who has been held in Texas since his arrest in the U.S. over the summer does not oppose being transferred to New York to face charges there, according to a court filing Thursday.

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, 76, co-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, was arrested along with Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of notorious drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán,” after landing at an airport near El Paso on July 25. They are charged in the U.S. with various drug crimes and remain jailed.

Federal prosecutors in Texas asked the court last month to move Zambada to the New York jurisdiction that includes Brooklyn, where the elder Guzmán was convicted in 2019 of drug and conspiracy charges and sentenced to life in prison.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso had issued an order Wednesday denying the request for a move to New York. But prosecutors filed a motion Thursday saying that Zambada and his attorneys agreed to the move, and a subsequent court filing confirmed that.

The transfer is pending approval from Cardone, who late Thursday afternoon canceled a status conference hearing scheduled Monday in El Paso.

Zambada faces charges in multiple locales. So far he’s appeared in U.S. federal court in El Paso, where he pleaded not guilty to various drug trafficking charges.

If prosecutors get their wish, the case against Zambada in Texas would proceed after the one in New York.

In New York, Zambada is charged with running a continuing criminal enterprise, murder conspiracy, drug offenses and other crimes.