US Prosecutors Fear Jail-Break Plot by Sinaloa “Cartel” Leader Zambada Niebla

In what might best be described as a drug-war induced flashback to Prohibition-era Chicago, US prosecutors are raising concerns that a high-level Mexican Sinaloa “Cartel” gangster now being held in a downtown jail in the Windy City might be setting the stage for a John Dillinger-like prison break — with a bit of a high-rise James Bond twist.

Attorneys for alleged Sinaloa drug-trafficking organization “kingpin” Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla, who is now imprisoned in Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) awaiting trial, filed a brief in federal court earlier this month accusing the US government of violating their client’s Constitutional rights because he has been denied access to outdoor recreation facilities.

The MCC is a high-rise prison complex located in Chicago’s downtown and is surrounded by other, taller skyscrapers. The only outdoor exercise facility in the MCC is on the building’s roof.

In pleadings filed in federal court this past Friday in reaction to Zambada Niebla’s demand for outdoor recreation opportunities, US prosecutors argue against providing him with access to the MCC's rooftop. A declaration filed with the court by the warden of Chicago’s MCC alleges the following:

"… Mr. Zambada would make an easy[assassination] target as he would be the only inmate allowed on the rooftop at the time, and there are numerous high-rise buildings surrounding this facility that neither myself nor fellow law enforcement have any control over. Attacks could easily be staged from those buildings.

"… The likelihood of an attempted escape by any means is very real. As a member of the Sinaloa Cartel, Mr. Zambada has the resources to effectuate such an escape. In fact, the Sinaloa Cartel funded the escape of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in 2001 form a Mexican jail. [Emphasis added.]

"Mr. Guzman is still at large and his estimated net worth, according to Forbes magazine, is over $1 billion…."

And [so], within a week of US prosecutors filing a motion in Zambada Niebla’s case seeking to invoke national security procedures — a sign that intelligence agencies such as he CIA may also have a role in his case — the US government has lodged another set of pleadings, filed Sept. 16, raising concerns about a possible escape plan, or even an assassination attempt, being set in motion with respect to Zambada Niebla.

This might all be written off as conspiracy-theory fiction, if it were not for the fact that Zambada Niebla’s case is playing out in real time in the 21st Century drug war in the heart of Chicago — a city famous for its Prohibition-era gangster sagas and bigger-than-life “public enemies,” like John Dillinger.

Read the whole story at Narco News.