José Ramón Cossío, retired minister of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), analyzed the legal implications of the letter delivered by Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada to the General Consulate of Mexico in New York. In this letter, Zambada acknowledged that the Mexican government, through the Consulate in New York, was informed of his detention and asserted that his transfer to the United States was not a kidnapping with the involvement of American agents, but rather a transfer by private individuals.
Cossío Díaz considered that Zambada will be prosecuted in the United States, recalling relevant previous cases that allow criminal defendants to be prosecuted in U.S. courts, regardless of how they arrived in U.S. territory. He emphasized that Zambada's acknowledgment of the information provided by the Mexican Consulate is crucial from a legal standpoint.
The former minister detailed that consular assistance is an essential element in this case, as Mexico sued the United States in 2009 for failing to provide information and consular assistance to Mexican citizens on U.S. soil. Cossío highlighted that, unlike this previous case, Zambada acknowledged that the Mexican government indeed had information about his detention and the possibility to offer him consular assistance, but he demands a greater active participation from the Consulate in his repatriation to Mexico.
