U.S. prosecutors seeks to move “El Mayo” case to a federal court in New York

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Mexican drug lord Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada's case could be moved to Brooklyn after U.S. prosecutors presented a formal request to move the case from Texas to New York.

"El Mayo" was arrested on July 25 along with the son of "El Chapo", Joaquín Guzmán López at the Doña Ana County Jetport in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.

According to the federal court records, Federal prosecutors in Texas asked a court yesterday to hold a hearing to take the necessary procedural steps to transfer him to the New York jurisdiction that includes Brooklyn, where “El Chapo” was found guilty in 2019 on charges of drug trafficking and conspiracy and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mexican Officials and the country's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador have said recently they requested the flight information from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the route the plane where Zambada and Guzmán López took when they traveled from Mexico to the U.S.

They requested the aircraft's serial number, FAA records, passenger information, and customs and border authorization documents.

Zambada has appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas El Paso Division two times since his arrest. He has pleaded not guilty to several charges including drug trafficking and other charges.

U.S. Federal prosecutors in Texas submitted a plaintiff on Thursday to hold a hearing to take the procedural steps needed to move him to the Eastern District of New York.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza and Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonio Franco Jr. forwarded a copy of the plaintiff to "El Mayo's" lawyers Frank Perez and Ray Velarde.