The defense of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García asked federal judge Brian M. Cogan that, if sentenced to life imprisonment, he recommend his confinement in a penitentiary center that has specialized medical care, arguing that the co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel faces considerable physical deterioration due to his advanced age and various health conditions.

The petition was presented this July 6 before Judge Cogan, of the Eastern District Court of New York, as part of the process prior to the sentencing against Zambada, who last February pleaded guilty to various charges related to drug trafficking and organized crime.

In the document, the defense clarifies that its client is not seeking to avoid the sentence provided by law, but is requesting a recommendation on the place where he will serve the sentence.

The lawyers claim that the 77-year-old drug trafficker has various chronic diseases associated with age, including diabetes, hypertension and other conditions that require constant medical monitoring. Therefore, they requested that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) confine him in a facility capable of guaranteeing specialized treatment and permanent monitoring.

The request does not imply a reduction of the sentence. In fact, the defense expressly recognizes that the accused understands that the legal consequence of his guilty plea will be a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, so he only seeks that the court issue a recommendation on the penitentiary institution where he will be interned.

The case represents one of the most relevant processes against a historical leader of Mexican drug trafficking. The sentencing hearing will be led by Judge Brian Cogan, the same one who in 2019 sentenced Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán to life imprisonment plus 30 years in prison.

Various specialists consider that Zambada's admission of guilt practically eliminates any possibility of a trial and directs the case towards a similar sentence, although the defense maintains its strategy focused on the conditions of imprisonment.

The document also highlights that Zambada did not file pretrial motions or seek to delay the judicial process. According to his lawyers, from the early stages of the procedure he expressed a willingness to collaborate with the development of the case and agreed to face the legal consequences of his actions.

The capo's legal situation took a turn in July 2024, when he was transferred to US territory after arriving at an airport in Texas along with Joaquín Guzmán López, son of “El Chapo”. While the US government maintains that both were detained upon entering the country, Zambada's defense has argued in different judicial briefs that the criminal leader was taken against his will from Mexico.

That episode opened a new diplomatic front between Mexico and the United States. The Attorney General's Office is maintaining an investigation to clarify the circumstances in which Zambada left the country, while US authorities continue with the criminal proceedings against him.