Shared Responsibility

Mexico to Chicago: Cartel leader extradited

Written by Examiner.com Wednesday, 24 February 2010 15:56

In what has been heralded as a significant step forward in the war on drugs, a high ranking member of the Sinaloan drug cartel has been extradited to Chicago from Mexico. Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla is described as a second generation cartel leader that was responsible for the import of over $50,000,000.00 worth of Cocaine into the United States with Chicago being the hub of the operation.

Zambada-Niebla was one of among 36 men indicted last August; a group that included his father, Ismael “el-Mayo” Zambada-Garcia and Joaquin “el-Chapo” Guzman-Loera. The Cartel’s alleged leader, Arturo Beltran-Leyva, was killed in a shootout with Mexican police following a standoff in December.

Vicente and Ismael are accused of using trucks, cars, boats, and planes to transport hundreds of kilograms of cocaine to Chicago, California, New York, and New Jersey.

Security around the federal courthouse in Chicago was increased for Zambada’s appearance due to information being obtained that cartel members has discussed acquiring weapons and using them to stage attacks in response to the extradition.

U.S. Attorney Pat Fitzgerald said that the extradition of Zambada was “an extremely significant development in the United States effort to prosecute international drug importation conspiracies wherever the defendants may be operating.”