'El Vicentillo', Son of Sinaloa Cartel Leader, Is No Longer In a US Federal Prison

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

Vicente Zambada Niebla ("El Vicentillo"), former high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel and son of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, is no longer in a US federal prison. This information was confirmed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) a few hours ago.

“With the information that we have available at this time, we can tell you that Vicente Zambada-Niebla is not in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP),” a spokespersons for that agency wrote in response to questions from The Associated Press (AP).

The BOP did not say when and why Zambada-Niebla was no longer in a US federal prison.

The US Marshals Service, which takes prisoners who have entered the US Federal Witness Protection Program (WPP), did not confirm or deny that Zambada-Niebla was in their custody.

"[We] do not confirm or deny any information about anyone who may or may not participate in the Witness Protection Program. We also did not provide details on the movement or location of prisoners," said James P. Stossel in a written statement.

Zambada-Niebla's name no longer appears in the BOP's online inmate look-up portal. His release date is also not found in any electronic database of the US government. His attorney, who was contacted by the AP, did not offer a comment.

Although some sources are claiming that Zambada-Niebla was released from prison, this is not necessarily proven. Prisoners who enter the WPP are removed from the BOP's database and the general prison population. This may be the case for Zambada-Niebla.

His uncle Jesús "El Rey" Zambada is also not in BOP custody. He testified in Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's 2019 trial along with Lucero Guadalupe Sánchez and Jorge Milton Cifuentes.

On the other hand, another son of El Mayo, Ismael Zambada Imperial, known as "Mayito Gordo", pleaded guilty on Friday to drug trafficking in a court in San Diego, California. He will be sentenced by a judge in a year.

Background

From the time he was a boy, Zambada-Niebla was groomed to be the future leader of the cartel. He was, after all, the eldest son of El Mayo. The throne of the Zambada faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful drug trafficking groups, was arguably his by birthright. 

Zambada-Niebla followed his father's footsteps for years and became his top lieutenant and emissary. But his ill-fated attempt to quit the cartel landed him in prison.

He was arrested in Mexico in 2009 and sentenced to 15 years in prison in the US in 2019. Citing his "extraordinary and unprecedented" cooperation, US prosecutors agreed to this sentence instead of giving him life imprisonment. For time served, his expected release date was sometime in 2024 or earlier for good conduct.

Zambada-Niebla was one of the star witnesses in the trial of El Chapo in Brooklyn, New York.

Zambada-Niebla testified that El Chapo, with whom he worked, had contacts in the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He also confirmed that he had two telephone conversations, monitored by the US government, with his father while he was already imprisoned in the US.

Both calls occurred in 2012. According to Zambada-Niebla's testimony, the conversations were mostly trivial and about how both were doing at a personal level. However, he also asked his father about information on other drug traffickers that the DEA could investigate and eventually track down.

One of El Chapo's attorneys said that shortly after Zambada-Niebla's call with El Mayo, El Chapo was arrested. He suggested that El Mayo may have given US authorities information that led to his capture.

Sources: Chicago Tribune; Univision; Borderland Beat archives