What's it like to defend a Mexican cartel boss? Reputed drug lords seek lawyers in U.S.

On a azygous time precocious past month, the Mexican authorities shipped 29 accused cause lords northbound crossed the borderline to look U.S. justice.

Plucked from Mexican situation cells, hustled onto planes successful shackles and express-delivered into the waiting hands of American authorities were respective notorious capos, whose alleged narco exploits person been chronicled successful films, TV bid and national indictments spanning decades.

Among them are brothers said to beryllium down the brutal radical known arsenic the Zetas; reputed leaders of the Gulf, Juarez and Jalisco New Generation cartels; and the elusive Rafael Caro Quintero, wanted since the 1980s successful transportation with the torture and sidesplitting of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

All are present housed astatine jails crossed the state connected charges including cause trafficking and murder. At slightest six could look the decease penalty, an antithetic twist owed to the unsocial circumstances of their arrival.

A photograph provided by Mexico’s Secretariat of the Navy shows agents escorting reputed cause trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero aft his 2022 seizure successful Sinaloa.

(Associated Press)

With their cases present successful U.S. courts, there’s been a scramble to find lawyers consenting and capable to support specified high-stakes clients. President Trump has analyzable the concern by designating respective cartels arsenic violent organizations, raising concerns the Treasury Department could question to frost assets utilized to wage attorneys.

Nearly 3 weeks aft their arrival, respective notable defendants sent by Mexico connected Feb. 27 — including Caro Quintero — inactive person court-appointed counsel, meaning U.S. taxpayers are footing their ineligible bills.

Multiple lawyers who specialize successful analyzable national cause and conspiracy cases described the existent infinitesimal arsenic unprecedented. Each week seems to bring caller chaos arsenic Trump ratchets up unit connected Mexico to topple the cartels and stanch the travel of fentanyl.

It should beryllium roar times for the alleged achromatic pulverization bar, arsenic the signifier of lawyering for the world’s astir prolific cause pushers has been dubbed. But immoderate seasoned attorneys are proceeding with caution, informing of unforeseen consequences from Trump’s crackdown and preexisting conflicts that bounds who tin articulation definite cases.

“This is benignant of similar a niche practice,” said Bonnie Klapper, a erstwhile national narcotics authoritative turned defence attorney. “I warrant you a batch of the accustomed suspects won’t beryllium capable to correspond these people.”

Klapper erstwhile helped instrumentality down Colombia’s Norte del Valle cartel, but she has since switched sides, operating arsenic backstage counsel. Her past enactment arsenic a authoritative precludes her from cases successful which she helped trade the indictment, and she’s heard from colleagues who person spotted different conflicts, specified arsenic representing imaginable witnesses.

The decease punishment charges further constrictive the field. Capital cases necessitate experienced “learned counsel” and bring their ain unsocial acceptable of challenges, not slightest the anticipation of the lawsuit being executed. Three of the 29 prisoners sent implicit by Mexico are charged successful California national courts, including 1 decease punishment lawsuit successful Los Angeles.

Adding coercion designations and pursuing the decease punishment portion restricting ways for erstwhile cartel members to stay successful the U.S. besides hazard making it harder for national authorities to flip informants, Klapper said.

“I don’t deliberation anybody has thought done the implications of this for the transgression justness system,” she said. “Because who is going to cooperate if the U.S. won’t support them and their families?”

Mexico has abolished superior punishment and typically does not extradite citizens who could beryllium enactment to decease nether U.S. law. But officials connected some sides of the borderline person tiptoed astir utilizing the connection “extradition” for the caller handover. A quality merchandise from the Department of Justice said the U.S. simply “secured custody” of the wanted men.

William Purpura, left, and Eduardo Balarezo, right, proceedings attorneys for Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, get astatine the national courthouse successful Brooklyn, N.Y., connected Feb. 12, 2019.

(Seth Wenig / Associated Press)

William Purpura was 1 of 3 lawyers who defended erstwhile Sinaloa cartel person Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman during a three-month proceedings that ended with a condemnation successful 2019. That lawsuit did not impact the decease penalty, but Purpura has worked connected a fig of others that did. He said it’s a grueling endeavor, requiring “complete dedication to 1 client.”

“A decease verdict volition haunt proceedings counsel to the execution and beyond,” Purpura said. “This is not an undertaking for the accustomed formed of characters. It is the Chapo proceedings connected steroids.”

Purpura and others successful backstage signifier said they typically find enactment done referrals, relying connected lawyers successful Mexico and gathering with a prospective client’s household to physique spot earlier taking connected a case.

Defense attorneys person allegedly breached the instrumentality successful pursuit of business. Last month, a salient Miami lawyer was charged with a bribery scheme successful which prosecutors accidental 2 erstwhile DEA supervisors leaked confidential accusation successful speech for Yankees tickets and five-figure concealed payments. The tips were astir progressive investigations, which prosecutors said enabled the lawyer to get a caput commencement connected wooing the targets arsenic clients.

The lawyer, David Macey, has pleaded not blameworthy to charges that see bribery of a nationalist authoritative and perjury.

“David is simply a devoted begetter and hubby and a highly respected lawyer with an impeccable grounds arsenic a subordinate of the barroom for astir 30 years. He did not bribe anyone,” Macey’s attorney, David Patton, said successful a statement. “The government’s allegations are false, and we are assured that the grounds volition beryllium his innocence astatine trial.”

Jeffrey Lichtman, an lawyer for cause kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, talks to reporters extracurricular the national tribunal successful Washington connected June 10, 2021.

(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

Some of the highest-powered operators person taken connected generations of relatives from the aforesaid family. Jeffrey Lichtman, the pb proceedings lawyer for El Chapo, present defends his client’s 2 sons, known arsenic Los Chapitos, successful their pending U.S. cases. Court records besides amusement Lichtman was precocious added to the lawsuit of a suspected high-ranking Chapitos subordinate who was among the 29 men handed implicit by Mexico.

Lichtman did not respond to a petition for comment.

Before representing the Chapo clan, Lichtman erstwhile helped New York mob fig John Gotti Jr. beat racketeering charges.

“I’m utilized to dealing with clients that nine has already discarded, already convicted, and being capable to person [jurors] that possibly everything the authorities and the property says is not 100% accurate,” Lichtman said successful a 2017 interview astir his determination to correspond El Chapo.

One of El Chapo’s sons is accused of kidnapping their father’s longtime Sinaloa cartel partner, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, and delivering him to U.S. authorities successful the summer. The alleged betrayal triggered an ongoing warfare betwixt cartel factions successful Mexico, and near Zambada, 75, facing a imaginable decease condemnation for cause and execution charges successful the Eastern District of New York. He has pleaded not guilty.

Frank Perez, lawyer for cartel person Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, leaves national tribunal successful Brooklyn, N.Y., aft Zambada’s arraignment connected Sept. 13, 2024.

(Corey Sipkin / Associated Press)

Zambada’s lawyer, Frank Perez, 70, had careers arsenic an aerial postulation controller and Dallas narcotics detective earlier gathering up his instrumentality practice. Perez besides tried his manus astatine politics, launching an unsuccessful bid for Congress arsenic a Democrat successful 2014. He precocious recovered himself thrust into the spotlight, with Zambada’s lawsuit becoming a root of planetary intrigue and controversy.

Perez has issued statements connected the jailed Zambada’s behalf, leveling the kidnapping claims against El Chapo’s son and denying rumors of a concealed surrender deal. Recently, Perez and 2 lawyers successful Mexico petitioned to person Zambada returned to his location country, arguing helium was “coercively transferred from Mexican territory.”

The national justice presiding implicit Zambada’s lawsuit successful Brooklyn raised concerns that Perez has a imaginable struggle of interest. Perez besides represented his client’s son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, a cardinal witnesser against El Chapo who could present perchance beryllium called to attest against his ain father.

The elder Zambada said astatine a Jan. 15 proceeding that helium understood the concern and trusted his lawyer.

“He whitethorn person to withhold accusation helium learns from speaking with Vicente that helium can’t stock with me,” Zambada said, speechmaking a prepared connection successful Spanish. “But I don’t privation a antithetic attorney. I privation Frank Perez to correspond me.”

Perez declined to comment, but to reiterate his caller nationalist statements that his lawsuit is not cooperating with U.S. authorities and warring to debar the decease penalty.

Court records amusement Perez besides precocious took connected different high-profile client: Miguel Angel Treviño-Morales, nicknamed Z-40. Treviño-Morales was arraigned past week successful Washington, wherever helium pleaded not blameworthy to an array of cause and execution conspiracy charges for his alleged enactment of the Zetas.

Originally a squad of elite Mexican subject defectors who became guns for hire, the Zetas formed a ruthless cartel blamed by authorities for a agelong database of atrocities implicit the past 3 decades. A splinter group, the Northeast cartel, was among those designated arsenic a violent enactment past period by the Trump administration.

The panic designation, respective lawyers said, has created uncertainty astir whether immoderate modular operating procedures for cartel cases whitethorn nary longer apply.

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has agelong maintained a alleged kingpin database of suspected cause traffickers and beforehand companies that are banned from doing concern with U.S. citizens oregon accessing the banking system. Usually, defence lawyers said, if they supply due notification, disclosing however overmuch wealth was received and what it was for, the bureau volition let transactions for ineligible services.

For 1 thing, the strategy ensures taxation dollars aren’t unnecessarily spent connected court-appointed counsel.

Eduardo Balarezo, different El Chapo proceedings attorney, said it’s successful the government’s involvement to let backstage counsel, particularly erstwhile the suspect is consenting to negociate a plea.

The deals tin guarantee the lawsuit has a accidental of someday walking free, nett the authorities millions of dollars successful surrenders of illicit currency — and besides marque little enactment for each of the lawyers involved.

“It doesn’t instrumentality that overmuch to spell successful with your lawsuit to the authorities and perceive to him talk,” Balarezo said. “You person to hole him, but it’s not the aforesaid arsenic a trial.”

César de Castro, the court-appointed lawyer for Genaro García Luna, a erstwhile Mexican information authoritative sentenced to 38 years successful prison for taking millions successful cartel bribes, speaks to reporters successful Brooklyn, N.Y., successful Feburary 2023.

(John Minchillo / Associated Press)

But with Trump rebranding cartels arsenic terrorists, immoderate lawyers interest the authorities whitethorn alteration its stance connected payments and pleas.

“That’s a immense question for each these people: Do they person assets to wage for lawyers, and is the authorities going to bash thing astir it?” said César de Castro, a New York defence lawyer who has worked connected respective large cause cases.

Although U.S. prosecutors person accused top-level traffickers of being billionaires, immoderate tin amusement connected insubstantial that they can’t spend an attorney.

De Castro served arsenic the court-appointed lawyer for Genaro García Luna, a erstwhile Mexican information authoritative sentenced past twelvemonth to 38 years successful prison for taking millions successful cartel bribes.

The lawsuit was nether a media and governmental microscope, forcing De Castro to tread carefully.

“Every phrasing of everything is important,” helium said. “Every fricking connection matters.”

De Castro faced backlash during the proceedings erstwhile Mexico’s erstwhile president took discourtesy to the lawyer’s questions astir alleged cartel payments. Death threats ensued — a hazard of the job, the lawyer said.

“I don’t privation to beryllium threatened oregon chased extracurricular the courthouse. I person a household too. I don’t request voicemails telling maine I should die. But I had to bash it for my client,” helium said.