Mexico’s bloody cartel war rages as myth of the ‘good narco’ wears thin
El Chapo and El Mayo believed themselves to be generous bandits with a strict code – the new generation is different

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/22/mexico-sinaloa-cartel-good-narco

Mexican cartels were killing women and children even when they were there, 10 years ago or earlier

El Chapo cultivated a bizarre Robin Hood-like image. Ofcourse it's a Myth.

Mexico, ''Dracula'' Arrested in Escuinapa: Sinaloa Epicenter of Drug Conflict
Luke Gross December 30, 2024
In an operation conducted in the municipality of Escuinapa, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, security forces arrested Juan Manuel Bernal Hernández , known as "Dracula", identified as the leader of a criminal cell linked to the "Chapitos" faction of the cartel founded by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada . Four other people were arrested along with Bernal, and weapons, narcotics and a property were seized. Authorities said Bernal Hernández was involved in drug trafficking, arms, ammunition and tactical equipment.
Faced with growing pressure from drug cartels in the state of Sinaloa, the federal government has ordered the deployment of more than 200 elite elements of the Mexican Army's Special Forces. The secretary general of the local government, Feliciano Castro Meléndrez , explained that the operation is part of an " adjustment of the security strategy ". " The Special Forces units are characterized by speed, mobility, deployment and reaction capacity, which allow them to effectively exploit intelligence products. They have a wide range of weapons, materials, equipment, aircraft and specialized training to operate in any geographical context ," the Army said in an official statement.
The deployment of troops is part of a strategy to counter the bloody war between the two factions of the Sinaloa cartel: on one side the "Chapitos", led by the sons of El Chapo Guzmán , and on the other the "Mayitos", loyal to Ismael El Mayo Zambada .
Since last September, when the conflict broke out in Culiacán, the state capital, 671 people have officially been killed in the clashes and 695 people have disappeared. However, according to the complaints of the mothers of the disappeared, interviewed by the Mexican newspaper Milenio, the missing could exceed 800.
The conflict started in August, when Ismael El Mayo Zambada , through his lawyer, released a letter in which he accused Joaquín Guzmán López , one of El Chapo's sons, of betraying him and transferring him against his will to El Paso, Texas. Since then, the war between the "Mayitos" and the "Chapitos" has intensified, involving not only the State of Sinaloa, but also those of Durango, Nayarit and Sonora, for control of the territory and drug trafficking.

U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday that they're discussing a potential plea deal with Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the long-elusive Mexican drug lord who was arrested last summer and whose son could testify against him if he goes to trial.

Assistant U.S. attorney Francisco Navarro said the plea discussions with Zambada, a leader of Mexico's powerful Sinaloa cartel, haven't borne fruit so far, but prosecutors want to keep trying. A judge scheduled an April 22 hearing for an update.

Zambada's lead attorney, Frank Perez, declined to comment on the discussions.

It's common for prosecutors and defense lawyers to explore whether they can reach a deal, and the talks don't necessarily go anywhere.

Zambada was an attentive and active participant during Wednesday's hearing, which focused on whether he wanted Perez to continue representing him even while also representing a potential government witness in the case — Zambada's son Vicente Zambada.

“I don't want a different attorney,” the father said through a court interpreter. “I want him, even though this could be a conflict if he represents me and my son.”

The younger Zambada was charged himself and made a plea deal in the long-running and sprawling U.S. prosecutions of Sinaloa cartel figures. He testified for the government at the trial of the cartel's infamous and now imprisoned co-founder, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Working alongside Guzmán, Ismael Zambada kept a lower profile and was seen as concentrating more on the business of smuggling than the extremes of brutality, serving as a strategist and dealmaker who engaged with day-to-day operations, authorities say.

At Guzmán's trial, Vicente Zambada recounted how his father and Guzmán ran the cartel together. At one point, he described corrupt Mexican politicians asking whether the syndicate could help them ship 100 tons of cocaine in an oil tanker.

“They wanted to know if my dad and Chapo could provide that amount of coke,” he told a jury in the same Brooklyn federal courthouse where his father is being prosecuted. At another point, Vicente Zambada recalled hearing a rival drug gang leader say he wanted to kill Ismael Zambada and Guzmán to avenge a botched hit.

Prosecutors said in a court document last month that the son might be called to testify against his father, which could pose a conflict of interest for Perez. For instance, he'd be hindered in cross-examining the son because of the loyalty he owes both clients.

Defense lawyers do sometimes have potential conflicts of interest regarding a client, and federal courts have outlined the steps judges should take to address such situations. Among them is having an independent lawyer advise defendants as they consider what to do about the possible conflict. Zambada had one at Wednesday's hearing.

Zambada said he realized there could be problems with Perez representing him and his son — “for example, that he will have to hide information that he obtained from Vicente from me.”

U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan ultimately agreed that Perez could stay on the case, noting that Ismael Zambada also has other lawyers who could handle any piece of it relating to his son.

Law enforcement sought the elder Zambada for years before his startling arrest in July at an airport near El Paso, Texas, after arriving in a private plane with one of Guzmán's sons, Joaquín Guzmán López. He, too, was wanted by U.S. authorities.

Zambada has said he was kidnapped in Mexico and hauled to the U.S. by Guzmán López, whose lawyer denies those claims. Joaquín Guzmán López and his brother Ovidio are in plea negotiations with the U.S. government, their lawyers said this month in a Chicago courtroom.

Following the July arrests and Zambada's allegations of kidnapping, horrific fighting erupted in Mexico between a cartel faction loyal to him and another tied to the “Chapitos," Guzmán's sons. The chain of events also strained relations between Mexico and the United States.

First, Mexico's president at the time, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and current President Claudia Sheinbaum laid part of the blame for the bloodshed at Washington's feet, saying the U.S. arrests uncorked trouble.

The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, responded that it was “incomprehensible” to suggest the cartel wars were Washington's fault. He subsequently asserted that the Mexican government had stopped cooperating with Washington on fighting cartels and was sticking its head in the sand about violence and police corruption.

Mexico's foreign ministry reacted by expressing “surprise” in a formal note to the U.S. embassy about the envoy's statement.

'El Mayo' Zambada Had An Amicable Relationship With Former Mexican President AMLO, Journalist Says
Reports have suggested that the Sinaloa cartel financed Andrés Manuel López Obrador's 2006 presidential campaign

https://www.latintimes.com/el-mayo-...an-president-amlo-journalist-says-574601

Drug lord 'El Mayo' wants deal with US Justice Department to avoid death penalty

Mexican drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada will plead guilty and cooperate with U.S. prosecutors if he is guaranteed not to face the death penalty, his lawyer has announced.

Zambada, one of the founders of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, was arrested last summer shortly after his private plane landed in El Paso, Texas. He is suspected of large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons possession, among other things.

Cocaine and fentanyl
The Sinaloa Cartel is known as one of the most powerful Mexican criminal organizations. It trades in cocaine and fentanyl, among other things, which are smuggled not only to the US but also to Europe. Zambada was the founder of the cartel together with Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán. The latter was extradited to the US in 2017 and is serving a life sentence.

The New York City prosecutor, who is prosecuting Zambada, has not yet responded to his proposal. Zambada has been in a U.S. prison since his arrest. Given his age (77), it is considered possible that he has health problems and has allowed himself to be arrested so that he can receive treatment in relative peace. However, there is no concrete evidence for this yet.

Power struggle
After Zambada's arrest, it was already expected that the loss of the big boss would lead to more violence in the state of Sinaloa, where the cartel is mainly active. That has happened : in the state, hundreds have already died in a bloody power struggle between the sons of the founders 'El Chapo' and 'El Mayo'. In the capital Culiacán, public life has been largely disrupted, with no end in sight.