| | |  Americas & Beyond 
Is Chicago the Hub for Mexico Cartel?
 Natasha Korecki - SunTimes.com
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February 24, 2010
| | Military officers escort alleged drug trafficker Vicente Zambada last March in Mexico City. Amid extraordinarily tight security, he faced a judge in Chicago Tuesday. (AP) | |
A man described by authorities as a high-ranking leader of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel pleaded not guilty Tuesday to wide-ranging drug conspiracy charges that accuse him of helping bring in tons of cocaine and heroin to Chicago, New York, New Jersey and California.
The alleged second-generation cartel leader, Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla, 34, was brought to Chicago last week and charged in what authorities say is the largest international narcotics conspiracy case in the city's history.
And his extradition was described as one of the most significant in years from Mexico, where the authorities say the Sinaloa organization is among the powerful drug cartels contributing to the country's ongoing drug war.
Security was beefed up in around the federal courtroom for Tuesday's hearing.
Zambada-Niebla was indicted last August with his father, Ismael "el Mayo" Zambada-Garcia, and Joaquin "el Chapo" Guzman-Loera, who are both accused of directing factions of the Sinaloa cartel.
Also charged was reputed cartel leader Arturo Beltran-Leyva, who was killed in a standoff with Mexican authorities in December.
Heavy court security
Court filings in the case, led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Chicago, say that the conspiracy brought drugs from South America and Central America to the interior of Mexico and that the drugs were then transported to Chicago, which was used as a distribution point for the rest of the country.
Authorities say Zambada-Niebla was an influential, second-generation member of the Sinaloa drug cartel.
Vicente and Ismael Zambada used planes, boats, trucks and cars to move nearly $50 million worth of cocaine from Colombia to Chicago, New York, New Jersey and California, according to charges in a U.S. indictment. Hundreds of kilograms of cocaine were allegedly taken to Chicago.
Zambada-Niebla was arrested last year in Mexico City and was turned over to U.S. authorities on Thursday in what Justice Department officials said was a major step forward in the war on drugs.
Extraordinary security in and around the courtroom reflected the concern of federal officials about the potential for violence by the cartel, which is named for the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
Federal prosecutors say cartel members discussed striking back against the war on drugs by acquiring weapons and using them to attack unspecified Mexican and American installations. The indictment provides no details of the discussions.
Zambada-Niebla was among three dozen defendants indicted in August in Chicago and is also charged in a separate case pending in the nation's capital.
U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said last week that the extradition of Zambada-Niebla was "an extremely significant development in the United States effort to prosecute international drug importation conspiracies wherever the defendants may be operating."
Zambada-Niebla's New York-based defense attorneys, Edward Panzer and George L. Santangelo, left the courthouse declining to comment on the case. They told Judge Ruben Castillo that they would be bringing in a Chicago-based attorney to work with them.
nkorecki(at)suntimes.com
Contributing: AP
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