Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a co-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking, murder and other charges in a New York court, months after his dramatic arrest and transfer into United States custody.
Zambada entered the plea to the 17 felony counts he faces, which also include money laundering and weapons charges, at a hearing on Friday in Brooklyn, New York.
US Magistrate Judge James Cho ordered that Zambada, 76, be jailed pending trial.
Prosecutor Francisco Navarro called Zambada “one of the most, if not the most, powerful narcotics kingpins in the world”.
“A United States jail cell is the only thing that will prevent the defendant from committing further crimes and ensure his return to court,” he told the hearing.
Sought by law enforcement for more than two decades, Zambada has been in US custody since July 25, when he landed in a private plane at an airport outside El Paso, Texas, according to federal authorities.
He was in the company of another fugitive cartel leader, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who is the son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
Guzman Lopez is currently awaiting trial on a separate indictment in Chicago. He pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges in a federal court in late July.
Questions have swirled around Zambada’s capture, which also spurred fears of more drug-related violence in Mexico and heightened tensions between the Mexican and US governments.
Last month, Zambada’s lawyer said Guzman Lopez and six men in military uniforms “forcibly kidnapped” his client near the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan and flew him to the US against his will.
But the Guzman family lawyer has denied the kidnapping charge, instead calling it a voluntary surrender after extended negotiations.
Zambada also described his capture as an “abduction” in a statement released through his lawyer in mid-August. “I was ambushed,” he said.
Experts, however, say the manner of his arrival in the US will have little bearing on his criminal case.
If convicted on all charges, Zambada faces a minimum sentence of life in prison and would be eligible for the death penalty.
He also pleaded not guilty to separate drug trafficking and other charges in Texas.
In a letter to the judge, US prosecutors called him “one of the world’s most notorious and dangerous drug traffickers”.
“The defendant maintained an arsenal of military-grade weapons to protect his person, his drugs, and his empire,” they wrote.
“His heavily armed private security forces were used as his personal bodyguards and as protection for drug shipments throughout Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and beyond,” the letter continued.
“Moreover, he maintained a stable of ‘sicarios,’ or hitmen, who carried out gruesome assassinations and kidnappings aimed at maintaining discipline within his organization, protecting against challenges from rivals, and silencing those who would cooperate with law enforcement.”
A surge in criminal violence, much of it linked to drug trafficking and gangs, has seen more than 450,000 people murdered in Mexico since 2006.
Experts say Zambada’s arrest has coincided with a spike in violence in Culiacan, as different factions in the Sinaloa cartel compete to fill the power vacuum.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador briefly addressed the violence in his morning press conference on Friday, calling on the cartel to “avoid further loss of life”.
The warring parties “have to look for other ways” to address their differences, Lopez Obrador said, so “they do not harm innocent people”.
“They also should take care of themselves and their families,” he added.