International

Mexican drug trafficker Ismael ‘el Mayo’ Zambada appears this Friday in New York

Mexican drug trafficker Ismael ‘el Mayo’ Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, will appear in person on Friday in a New York court to hear the reading of charges that weigh on him, according to a spokesman for the New York Prosecutor’s Office.

Zambada, who was arrested on July 25 in El Paso (Texas) and since then was imprisoned in that state, was summoned before Judge James R. Cho, who will read the 17 charges against him and that, if found guilty, lead to a life sentence.

The charges have been modified or regrouped for the fifth time since his arrest and include the crimes of murder, possession of weapons, money laundering, production and trafficking of drugs (cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine) and belonging to a criminal enterprise.

One of the lawyers representing Zambada, Frank Pérez, told EFE that he did not know the summons for tomorrow because they had not informed him, although the lawyer who appears summoned to accompany ‘May’ will be Ray Velarde.

The New York Prosecutor’s Office defined Zambada as “one of the most prolific and powerful drug traffickers in the world” for having founded together with Joaquín ‘el Chapo’ Guzmán – sentenced in 2019 to life imprisonment, also in New York – the Sinaloa cartel in the eighties.

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New judge for the case

Although Magistrate James Cho was appointed as investigating judge, the hearing is expected to be chaired by Judge Brian Cogan, who was the one who judged Al Chapo.

Likewise, Cogan was the magistrate who judged Genaro García Luna, the former Mexican Secretary of the Interior, in 2023, also in New York and found guilty of several drug trafficking charges, although he is still waiting for the final sentence.

The arrest of ‘Mayo’ Zambada has not pacified his Sinaloa region. This Thursday the authorities suspended classes in the municipalities of Culiacán, Cosalá, Elota and San Ignacio, while the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) reported on Wednesday a total of nine murders, eight injured and 14 kidnapped or missing since Monday.

International

Marco Rubio warns Venezuela against military action against Guyana

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday that a military attack on Guyana would be “a big mistake” and “a very bad day for them,” expressing his support for Georgetown in its territorial dispute with Caracas.

“It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well,” Rubio emphasized during a press conference in Georgetown alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.