Mexican drug lord ‘El Mayo’ Zambada pleads guilty in US, Pam Bondi says he’ll die in jail where he ‘belongs’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Mexican drug lord ‘El Mayo’ Zambada pleads guilty in US, Pam Bondi says he’ll die in jail where he ‘belongs’")
File photo Photograph: (Reuters)
Ex-cartel kingpin of Mexico, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, pleaded guilty on Monday (August 25) to US drug trafficking charges. He said in court that he was sorry for helping flood the US with cocaine, heroin, and other illicit substances.
Ex-cartel kingpin of Mexico, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, pleaded guilty on Monday (August 25) to US drug trafficking charges. He said in court that he was sorry for helping flood the US with cocaine, heroin, and other illicit substances. He also accepted that he fueled deadly violence in Mexico.
“I recognize the great harm illegal drugs have done to the people of the United States, of Mexico, and elsewhere,” he said through a Spanish-language interpreter, adding: “I take responsibility for my role in all of it and I apologize to everyone who has suffered or been affected by my actions."
'Will die in a US federal prison'
Reacting to this, Donald Trump's Attorney General Pam Bondi called the judgment a "landmark victory" and said he “will die in a US federal prison where he belongs."
This came as the American president and his Justice Department have amplified the US fight against drug cartels. The Trump administration declared them a terrorist organisation. Bondi noted Mexico’s opposition to the death penalty, which is a factor in its willingness to extradite suspects to the US. Although Zambada wasn’t extradited, she alluded to the nations’ understanding that “we cannot seek the death penalty” for those who are.
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