Accused Mexican drug lord 'El Mayo' wants US plea deal without death penalty

FILE PHOTO: 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

Source: REUTERS

By Lizbeth Diaz

Accused Mexican drug kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada is willing to plead guilty in a deal with prosecutors in the United States if the arrangement spares him from the death penalty, his lawyer told Reuters on Monday.

Zambada pleaded not guilty in federal court in New York last September to 17 felony counts including drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons charges. He has been jailed pending trial.

"Mr. Zambada does not want to go to trial and is willing to accept responsibility for a charge that does not include the death penalty," lawyer Frank Perez said.

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A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn, which brought the charges, declined to comment.

Zambada, who is in his 70s, was taken into U.S. custody last July at a New Mexico airfield along with one of Guzman's sons, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, in a major coup for U.S. law enforcement.

This article was produced by Reuters news agency. It has not been edited by Global South World.

By Reuters