Mexican cartel leader ‘El Mayo’ Zambada pleads not guilty to US charges

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Longtime drug cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada has pleaded not guilty to U.S. narcotics trafficking charges. Participating through a Spanish-language interpreter, Zambada didn’t speak at Friday’s hearing, except to give yes-or-no answers to a magistrate’s standard questions about whether he understood procedures. Zambada also said he was feeling fine when asked. His lawyers entered the not-guilty plea on his behalf. Zambada has been in U.S. custody since July 25, when he landed in a private plane at an airport outside El Paso, Texas, in the company of another fugitive cartel leader, according to federal authorities. The magistrate ordered him held until trial.