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yesterday

Judge Sets Aug. 25 Hearing for ‘El Mayo’ Zambada’s Expected Guilty Plea

The move follows the attorney general’s decision not to seek the death penalty.

Accused Mexican former drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada appears in Brooklyn federal court, New York, U.S, October 18, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo
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Undated images of drug trafficking leader Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, provided by Mexican prosecutors in August 2003
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Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Brian M. Cogan scheduled a change-of-plea hearing in Brooklyn for Aug. 25.
  • Court records indicate Zambada is expected to plead guilty in a case alleging torture, murders and large-scale narcotics trafficking.
  • Prosecutors told the court on Aug. 5 that Attorney General Pam Bondi directed them not to pursue capital punishment.
  • Zambada, 77, was arrested in July 2024 after arriving on a private plane alongside Joaquín Guzmán López, and he previously pleaded not guilty.
  • The terms of any plea have not been disclosed, and reporting suggests a deal could curtail public testimony about broader cartel networks seen in prior trials.