NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday it will not seek the death penalty for accused Mexican drug traffickers Rafael Caro Quintero and Ismael Zambada despite allegations of deep ties to cartel violence.
Caro Quintero was extradited to the U.S. in February alongside 28 other suspected cartel members as part of the biggest handover by Mexico of drug trafficking suspects in 10 years.
The septuagenarian had spent decades in prison for the murder of a DEA agent.
Zambada, known as El Mayo, is accused of co-founding the Sinaloa Cartel alongside convicted drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. He was arrested last year alongside Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of his former partner, at a small airport near El Paso, Texas.
Both Caro Quintero and Zambada have pleaded not guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Chris Reese)
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