New York, US, July 20 (EFE).- Mexican drug trafficker Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada was sentenced to life in prison on Monday after being found guilty of trafficking cocaine and fentanyl by a US court.
The judge presiding over the case, Brian Cogan, confirmed the sentence for the co-founder and one of the main leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, months after his guilty plea.
Before the sentence was handed down, “El Mayo,” 76, read a letter in which he apologized to all the people and families who had been victims of his actions, called for an end to the violence in Mexico, and urged young people to choose a different path to “avoid making the same mistakes.”
“No one wins in this kind of war,” Zambada said in Spanish during the sentencing hearing at the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn.
“I can’t change what I did, but I can take responsibility,” he added.
The sentence does not impose any fine on the Mexican national, but it does order the forfeiture of 15 billion dollars, as requested by the prosecution.
A few weeks ago, “El Mayo’s” defense team sent a letter to Judge Cogan accepting the sentence and acknowledging that, given the crimes he was charged with, he would spend his final days in prison regardless of whether he received a life sentence.
However, they requested that “El Mayo” be transferred to a medical prison due to health problems.
During sentencing, Judge Cogan chose not to make any recommendation regarding the prison where Zambada should be incarcerated, but asked that his physical condition be taken into account.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons, a US government agency, is responsible for designating the prison where Zambada will serve his sentence.
The prosecution expressed some disagreement with the request, pointing out the contacts that “El Mayo” still maintains.
The defense is seeking to prevent him from being sent to the maximum-security facility in Colorado where Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán is currently being held.
“El Mayo” limped into the courtroom and winced as he sat down. Dressed in a khaki prison jumpsuit with an orange T-shirt underneath, he had difficulty understanding the judge despite simultaneous translation, and also had trouble moving around. EFE
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