Ismael Mario Zambada García, the former drug lord and top leader of the Sinaloa cartel known as El Mayo, will plead guilty to federal drug charges.

Foreign defendants are rarely sent to the United States if they might face death, and America’s use of capital punishment has been a significant point of friction with Mexico’s government.

Ismael Zambada, right, the reputed leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, appeared in a federal courtroom in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday, Aug. 1, accompanied by his attorney, Frank Perez of Dallas.

Brooklyn Federal Court Magistrate Judge James Cho ordered he be held without bail. Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia, the co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, was arrested in the United States on July 25.

In this courtroom sketch, Ismael Zambada Garcia, El Mayo, center, is seated beside his defense attorney Frank Perez, left, in Federal court, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Friday, Sept. 13 ...

In this courtroom sketch, Ismael Zambada García, El Mayo, center, is seated beside his defense attorney Frank Perez, left, in Federal court, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Elizabeth Williams via AP) BROOKLYN (CN) — Arrested after four decades of heading the Sinaloa ...

In this courtroom sketch, Ismael Zambada Garcia, El Mayo, center, is seated beside his defense attorney Frank Perez, left, in federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Friday, Sept. 13 ...