US court wants to refer the “El Mayo” case to a federal court in New York

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) – The case of Mexican drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada could be moved to Brooklyn after the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a formal request to move the case from Texas to New York.

“El Mayo” was arrested on July 25 along with “El Chapo’s” son, Joaquín Guzmán López, at the Doña Ana County Jetport in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.

According to the Associated Press, federal prosecutors in Texas yesterday asked a court to hold a hearing to begin the necessary procedural steps for his extradition to the New York judicial district, which includes Brooklyn, where “El Chapo” was found guilty of drug trafficking and conspiracy in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison.

Mexican officials and the country's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, recently said they had requested information from the U.S. Department of Justice about the flight that Zambada and Guzmán López took from Mexico to the United States.

They requested the aircraft's serial number, FAA records, passenger information, and customs and border clearance documents.

Zambada has appeared twice in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, since his arrest. He has pleaded not guilty.