Why is 'El Mayo' Zambada afraid to 'reveal' the names of politicians linked to drug trafficking?

Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada would be willing to plead guilty in the United States to cooperate with US authorities and thus avoid the death penalty, but this does not include becoming an informant by giving names of politicians linked to drug trafficking.

Journalist Ioan Grillo spoke with Frank Pérez, the lawyer for the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel , to find out what the drug trafficker's conditions would be at his next hearing scheduled for April 22.

Ioan Grillo explained in an interview with Azucena Uresti that it is not in the best interest of 'El Mayo' Zambada to negotiate a shorter sentence because of his age.

"He knows he will die in prison because they cannot give him a shorter sentence," said the journalist.

' El Mayo' Zambada is 75 years old and as the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel , a criminal organization recently declared a terrorist organization by the Donald Trump administration, it would be unlikely that he would receive a sentence less than 30 years in prison.

Zambada, on the other hand, would seek to avoid the death penalty in the United States by pleading guilty to the crimes he is accused of.

The reason why 'El Mayo' would not give names or information about the political relationship and drug trafficking is because of his family and his businesses in Mexico .

"' El Mayo' has no interest in giving information because having relatives in Mexico would also put his family and his business at risk," said Ioan Grillo.

In addition, so far, he has not given any names of politicians linked to drug trafficking , according to lawyer Frank Pérez.

Journalist Ioan Grillo said that Frank Pérez also spoke about the health status of 'El Mayo' Zambada. The defender denied that the boss suffers from cancer, leukemia or any terminal illness.

However, Zambada does suffer from diabetes and the ailments associated with this disease. For this reason, he also receives medical treatment for it in prison.

The leader of the Sinaloa Cartel remains in solitary confinement, but receives daily visits from his legal team with whom he talks about politics, his cattle and his business in Mexico.

Regarding the letter from 'El Mayo' that was made public last Friday, Ioan Grillo said that it was not written by the boss but by his team of lawyers.

In this regard, Zambada's defense team said they are aware of the low probability of the drug lord's repatriation and ruled out the possibility that he was a threat to the Mexican government. Among the reasons is the way in which the drug lord left Mexico and was handed over to the United States authorities.

“In the case of 'El Mayo' "Since he was kidnapped in Mexico and put on a plane , taken to New Mexico and then to El Paso, there was no extradition treaty signed. That's why the death penalty is possible," the journalist explained.