Sinaloa Cartel Boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada appeared in federal court on Thursday in a wheelchair at a hearing after pleading not guilty to a litany of charges, including narcotics trafficking and money laundering. Zambada, who helped found the massive organized crime syndicate alongside Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, was arrested by U.S. law enforcement in Texas alongside another Sinaloa Cartel boss on July 25—El Chapo’s son, Joaquín Guzmán Lopez. In the following week, officials revealed that Lopez may have betrayed Zambada, tricking him into boarding a plane that flew into U.S. territory. However, Zambada’s lawyers said he was “forcibly kidnapped” by armed men in Culiacan, the city that serves as the Sinaloa Cartel’s stronghold in the region. His lawyers told Reuters the 76-year-old drug lord was suffering leg and back issues from the alleged kidnapping. Zambada was also wearing a clear plastic wristband, but his lawyers said it was not from a hospital or medical clinic.
