The Department of Justice won't seek the death penalty for top cartel leaders currently incarcerated in the U.S., new documents show.
The drug lords in question are Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, Rafael Caro Quintero and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, known as "El Viceroy."
Noticias Telemundo detailed that files signed by U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. note that the "Government respectfully files this letter to inform the court and the defense that the attorney general (Pam Bondi) has authorized and instructed her office to not seek the death penalty."
The outlet added that an agreement between the U.S. and Mexico doesn't allow the execution of people extradited to the former country. However, there were doubts about whether it applied to Zambada, apprehended in Texas after being betrayed by Joaquin Guzmán López, son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.
Reports from earlier this year noted that Zambada could seek a deal with U.S. federal authorities to avoid the death penalty. He faces numerous charges, including drug trafficking and murder conspiracy.
The drug lord had pleaded not guilty to charges against him in Texas and New York, but his strategy has seemingly changed as months went by.
"Mr. Zambada doesn't want to go to trial and is willing to accept responsibility for a charge that doesn't carry out the death penalty," his lawyer, Frank Perez, told Reuters back in February.
Zambada faces 17 charges in New York, including drug-trafficking, conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that Zambada played a central role in trafficking fentanyl into the United States, contributing to a surge in overdose deaths.
Caro Quintero, on his end, stands accused of leading a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to murder, international drug distribution, and firearms offenses related to drug trafficking. He is also well-known for playing a leading role in the the torture and killing of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena by the Guadalajara Cartel in 1985.
The road to his imprisonment has been long and winding. Caro Quintero spent 28 years in a Mexican prison for Camarena's murder before being released on a technicality in 2013, a move that embarrassed the Mexican government and infuriated U.S. officials. He vanished shortly after, only to be recaptured in July 2022 after a joint operation by Mexican marines and other security forces.
His surprise "expulsion" from Mexico in February, along with 28 other individuals, has set the stage for what promises to be a high-profile trial.
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
