Overview

• Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, 75, and Rafael Caro Quintero, 72, have pleaded not guilty to multi-count drug and violence charges and remain in federal custody in Brooklyn.
• The Justice Department filed letters with Judge Frederic Block stating that Attorney General Pam Bondi directed prosecutors to remove capital punishment from both indictments.
• Federal authorities have been in plea negotiations with Zambada’s defense team since winter, and Caro Quintero’s lawyers have welcomed the death‐penalty waiver as a step toward a swift resolution.
• Caro Quintero is charged with orchestrating the 1985 abduction, torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, while Zambada faces allegations of decades‐long narcotics trafficking and ordering cartel killings.
• Both trials are unfolding in the Brooklyn federal courthouse that convicted Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, underscoring its central role in high-profile cartel prosecutions.