Overview

• Judge Brian Cogan’s order recast the August 25 status conference in Brooklyn as a change-of-plea hearing and excluded a speedy trial under classified-information and capital-case protocols.
• The U.S. indictment accuses Zambada of 17 federal offenses, including organized-crime involvement, fentanyl and cocaine trafficking, money laundering and firearms violations.
• Defense filings assert that Zambada was abducted in July 2024 by cartel rival Joaquín Guzmán López and flown from Mexico to Texas against his will.
• Mexico’s government has lodged diplomatic protests over the irregular flight that delivered Zambada into U.S. custody last year.
• By entering a guilty plea, Zambada may secure a reduced sentence and become eligible to cooperate with U.S. authorities in ongoing transnational investigations.