By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
Fed prosecutors in Chicago are denying claims that a major Mexican cartel member had struck a deal with the DEA granting him immunity and others prosecution from immunity in exchange for information, Reuters news service reported.
Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla, the son of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the right-hand man of Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman, faces trial in Chicago on drug related charges.
His lawyers claim the DEA struck a deal with cartel attorney Humberto Loya-Castro in 1998 for immunity for some cartel members, Reuters reported.
But in court filings on Friday, Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald wrote: “Contrary to defendant’s claim, no immunity was conferred upon him, nor was any immunity conferred upon Loya-Castro.”
