Mexican drug lord “El Mayo” had his own nephew killed for stealing from him, authorities say

These are the true values ​​of the crime family.

The ruthless ex-boss of the world's largest drug empire – who was once the right-hand man of “El Chapo” – had his own nephew killed because he was collecting debts without his boss's consent, federal prosecutors say.

The cruelty was evident in court records as 76-year-old Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia appeared in a Brooklyn courtroom on Friday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges that he ruled for decades at the helm of Mexico's notorious Sinaloa cartel.

US Judge James Cho ordered Zambada's detention without bail after prosecutors said he ordered gruesome murders earlier this year, including the killing of his nephew Eliseo Imperial Castro in May.

The alleged crime boss, who founded the cartel with imprisoned and convicted Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, had his nephew executed after learning that he was collecting debts “allegedly” on behalf of his uncle but “for his own benefit,” a government court document said.

The bullet-riddled body of imperial President Castro was discovered May 31 in a car on the side of the road in the northwestern Mexican city of Culiacán, local authorities said.

Federal authorities say the alleged assassination attempt was part of “El Mayo’s” daily routine.

Before his arrest on July 25 in El Paso, Texas, Zambada was “one of the most powerful – if not the most powerful – drug lords in the world,” prosecutor Francisco Navarro said in court on Friday.

“He commanded a veritable army of men who were willing to use violence at his command,” Navarro said as Zambada, wearing a tan prison shirt, rocked slowly from side to side in a black wheelchair at the defense table with an expressionless expression on his face.

“He used this power to kill members of rival cartels, police officers, civilians and even members of his own cartel,” Navarro added. “Assassinations, kidnappings, torture, extortion and bribery were his tools.”

Zambada also ordered the killings of at least three people in recent months in retaliation for the theft of a large stash of the cartel's fentanyl pills, methamphetamine and cocaine in Tijuana in November 2023, federal authorities said in a court filing arguing for the accused drug lord to be held in custody pending trial.

Struggling to put weight on his left leg, the alleged drug lord limped to the defense table Friday morning to make his first appearance in the same courthouse where his former partner “El Chapo” was convicted five years earlier.

Like “El Chapo,” “El Mayo” – whose nickname is a nickname for Ismael – is responsible for billions of dollars in drug money laundered in Mexico, millions in annual corruption payments to local officials and countless kidnappings and murders since the late 1980s, prosecutors said.

Zambada did not say much during his court appearance on Friday, which lasted about 30 minutes.

“Yes, Sir“, he replied when Cho asked at the beginning of the hearing if he was indeed Ismael Zambada Garcia.

When the judge asked him how he was doing, Zambada replied through a Spanish-speaking interpreter: “Good, good.”

The judge then read out a list of the 17 charges against Zambada, including the charge of “operating a continuing criminal organization,” which carries a life sentence. Zambada then pleaded not guilty.

After the hearing concluded, Zambada, who was not handcuffed, again limped to the side door of the courtroom with the help of federal marshals.

Other charges against him include drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering. He is due back in court on October 31.

In a major coup for U.S. law enforcement, Zambada was arrested in July along with one of El Chapo's sons, Joaquin Guzmán López, after the small plane the two men were traveling in landed in El Paso.

U.S. authorities say Guzmán López tricked Zambada into boarding a small plane in Hermosillo, Mexico, under the pretense of completing a real estate deal, which led to his arrest.

But according to a letter written by Zambada from prison and passed on by his lawyer, the alleged drug lord claims he was ambushed at a meeting in Culiacán, Mexico, and put on a three-hour flight to the United States “against his will.”

“El Mayo” first appeared in federal court in Texas in July before his case was transferred to Brooklyn, where the same federal judge, Brian Cogan, presided over the El Chapo case.