Drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges today when he appeared before a U.S. court after being arrested Thursday in an operation that represents one of the hardest blows to Mexican drug trafficking in recent years.
Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López were arrested in El Paso, Texas. Both face charges of smuggling drugs into the United States, including the deadly fentanyl, which causes tens of thousands of deaths each year in that country.
Appearing in a court in El Paso, Texas, Zambada pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges, according to court records, which showed the Sinaloa Cartel co-founder waived his right to appear in court and ordered the plea entered on his behalf.
The court ordered him held without bail and he is scheduled to appear before Judge Anne Berton next Wednesday, records show. His attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hours earlier, the Mexican government said it had not participated in the operation that led to the arrest of the drug lords and said it was not certain whether they were captured or surrendered.
“It is part of the investigation to determine whether it was a capture or an agreed-upon delivery,” said Secretary of Security Rosa Icela Rodriguez at a press conference, and revealed that the U.S. embassy reported the arrests to Mexican authorities on Thursday afternoon.
Alongside President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the official acknowledged that the arrest of Zambada, 76, and Guzmán López, around 30, surprised her, “like everyone.” “We think it’s important,” she added, when asked about the significance of the arrest.
The president then said that it is necessary to wait to know if the capture was in Mexico or in the neighboring country. “They captured him there, that is what I think so far,” he said. The president said, however, that the operation shows the “joint work” between both governments, even though Mexico did not participate.
-With information from Reuters.
