MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was set to appear in an El Paso federal court on Friday, after he and a son of another drug lord were arrested on Thursday in El Paso, Texas.
Zambada’s initial court appearance was scheduled before U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Berton, court records showed. Zambada’s defense lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Both Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, face multiple charges in the U.S. for funneling huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to U.S. streets.
Their detentions were a dramatic achievement for U.S. law enforcement that could also shake up the Mexican drug landscape.
Mexico Security Minister Rosa Rodriguez said on Friday that the Mexican government was informed of the detentions by the U.S. government, but that Mexican authorities did not participate in the operation.
Zambada, who is believed to be in his 70s, and Guzman Lopez, who is in his 30s, were detained after landing in a private plane in the El Paso area.
Zambada co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with El Chapo, who was extradited to the U.S. in 2017 and is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison.
(Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez, Luc Cohen and Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Frances Kerry)
