International

Mexican drug trafficker Ismael ‘el Mayo’ Zambada appears this Friday in New York

Mexican drug trafficker Ismael ‘el Mayo’ Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, will appear in person on Friday in a New York court to hear the reading of charges that weigh on him, according to a spokesman for the New York Prosecutor’s Office.

Zambada, who was arrested on July 25 in El Paso (Texas) and since then was imprisoned in that state, was summoned before Judge James R. Cho, who will read the 17 charges against him and that, if found guilty, lead to a life sentence.

The charges have been modified or regrouped for the fifth time since his arrest and include the crimes of murder, possession of weapons, money laundering, production and trafficking of drugs (cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine) and belonging to a criminal enterprise.

One of the lawyers representing Zambada, Frank Pérez, told EFE that he did not know the summons for tomorrow because they had not informed him, although the lawyer who appears summoned to accompany ‘May’ will be Ray Velarde.

The New York Prosecutor’s Office defined Zambada as “one of the most prolific and powerful drug traffickers in the world” for having founded together with Joaquín ‘el Chapo’ Guzmán – sentenced in 2019 to life imprisonment, also in New York – the Sinaloa cartel in the eighties.

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New judge for the case

Although Magistrate James Cho was appointed as investigating judge, the hearing is expected to be chaired by Judge Brian Cogan, who was the one who judged Al Chapo.

Likewise, Cogan was the magistrate who judged Genaro García Luna, the former Mexican Secretary of the Interior, in 2023, also in New York and found guilty of several drug trafficking charges, although he is still waiting for the final sentence.

The arrest of ‘Mayo’ Zambada has not pacified his Sinaloa region. This Thursday the authorities suspended classes in the municipalities of Culiacán, Cosalá, Elota and San Ignacio, while the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) reported on Wednesday a total of nine murders, eight injured and 14 kidnapped or missing since Monday.

International

Iran Reports 201 Dead, 747 Injured After U.S. and Israeli Strikes

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported Sunday night (local time) that at least 201 people were killed and 747 injured following attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.

A spokesperson for the humanitarian organization said more than 220 rescue teams have been deployed across affected areas and that relief operations are continuing without interruption. The official highlighted the difficulty of treating the large number of wounded and the urgent need for additional resources in impacted provinces.

Out of Iran’s 31 provinces, 24 have reported damage, according to a statement carried by the Isna news agency. This marks the first overall casualty toll released by Iranian state-affiliated media since the launch of the offensive.

Among the dead are 85 schoolgirls from a school in the southern city of Minab, according to the country’s judiciary. “The number of martyrs at the Minab girls’ school has risen to 85,” the local prosecutor’s office said, as quoted by the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian described the attack as a “savagery” that “constitutes a new black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors.”

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Meanwhile, the international community continues to monitor the situation closely amid concerns about possible further reprisals and the broader impact on Middle East stability, energy markets, and global security.

AFP noted that it was unable to independently verify the casualty figures or the circumstances surrounding the events.

International

Pope Leo XIV Urges End to ‘Spiral of Violence’ in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the “spiral of violence” in the Middle East, following military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran and subsequent retaliatory bombardments in the region.

“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I urge the parties involved to assume their moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” the pontiff told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Speaking during the Angelus prayer, the U.S.-born pope said stability and peace cannot be achieved through threats or weapons. “Stability and peace are not built with reciprocal threats or with arms that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue,” he declared.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics also called for diplomacy to “regain its role” amid escalating tensions.

In addition, the pope urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to urgently resume dialogue after several days of clashes between the two countries.

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International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.