Mexico has requested the extradition of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada from the US since he was arrested: Gertz Manero

MEXICO CITY (apro).- Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero said that Mexico has requested the extradition of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada from the United States since he was arrested and kidnapped from Mexico because there are arrest warrants, but the U.S. authorities have not responded.

"We initiated proceedings for a series of crimes, the crime of kidnapping, illegal transportation, all of these behaviors are punishable, but we did not only initiate this procedure... we initiated an extradition procedure before the US authorities for this person who has three arrest warrants in force, it is an obligation, not only did we present it immediately, the US State Department recognized that it already has it and we have not had a response (...) The obligatory response was complied with in a comprehensive manner and within the legal framework," said Gertz Manero.

Mayo seeks an agreement

Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada is willing to accept a plea deal if it means prosecutors do not seek the death penalty, his lawyer told Reuters news agency.

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

In its February edition, Proceso reported that Zambada García was negotiating an agreement with the United States government to become a cooperating protected witness for the Department of Justice, in order to assist in its operations and strategies against drug cartels and political corruption in Mexico.

On July 25 of last year, in an act that remains inexplicable to this day, Zambada García (who has never been arrested by any Mexican authority), along with Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of Joaquín el Chapo Guzmán Loera, arrived by private plane at the airport in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, where DEA agents were already waiting to arrest him.

At the time of his arrest, Zambada García had five arrest warrants issued against him by different Mexican federal judges, one of them for extradition purposes to the United States.

Zambada's criminal record dates back to the 1990s, despite the fact that he had been involved in drug trafficking for decades, because, according to testimonies and intelligence documents, the boss was known for not being ostentatious enough to go unnoticed.

In his meeting with Proceso founder Julio Scherer García, the kingpin of kingpins acknowledged that his capture would have happened a long time ago if he were exhibiting himself like other drug traffickers do at parties and public places.