Mexican drug lord seeks repatriation to avoid U.S. death sentence

In this courtroom sketch, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, centre, is seated beside his defence attorney Frank Perez, left, in federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Sept. 13, 2024. (Elizabeth Williams via AP, File) (Elizabeth Williams/AP)

MEXICO CITY, Mexico -- Drug trafficker Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada has asked Mexico to seek his repatriation, faced with the possibility of being sentenced to death in the United States, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed Friday.

Zambada, who co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with notorious drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was arrested in the United States last July along with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of El Chapo.

Zambada, now 77, alleged that he had been kidnapped in Mexico and delivered into U.S. custody against his will, in an apparent attempt by Guzman Lopez to gain leniency for himself and an imprisoned brother.

The Mexican public prosecutor’s office will study Zambada’s request, which was received at the country’s consulate in New York, Sheinbaum said at a regular news conference.

The issue concerned the rights of a Mexican citizen at risk of being judged without all the legal procedure having been followed, she said.

According to the Mexican newspaper Reforma, Zambada’s defense asked for his “immediate repatriation” on the grounds that his transfer to the United States was “irregular.”

Unless the Mexican government intervenes, “I will be sentenced to death without a doubt,” according to the request published by the daily.

Zambada’s capture sparked a violent internal split in the Sinaloa Cartel, one of eight drug trafficking groups that have been designated terrorist organizations by U.S. President Donald Trump.