U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday they’re discussing a potential plea deal with Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the long-elusive Mexican drug lord arrested last summer.

A U.S. appeals court has upheld the conviction of the notorious Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo.

FILE- This May 30, 2020 combination of booking photos provided by the United States Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of New York shows Colinford Mattis, left, and Urooj Rahman, both Brooklyn attorneys. (U.S. Attorney's Office via AP, File)NEW YORK – Federal prosecutors told a judge Thursday they have offered a plea deal to two Brooklyn attorneys charged with firebombing an empty police vehicle last year amid demonstrations in New York City following the death of George Floyd. The U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn and defense attorneys for both lawyers declined to comment on the plea negotiations, which have been ongoing for several weeks. "This isn't a case that developed over a period of years — it happened in one night," Cogan said during a brief court hearing in Brooklyn federal court. AdThe attorneys are due back July 1 in Brooklyn federal court.

NEW YORK – Former top Mexican security official Genaro Garcia Luna pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to drug trafficking charges, including a new one of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise that could add 20 years to his sentence if convicted. In a hearing by video, to which reporters had access by phone, U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan read all charges to Garcia Luna. The new charge, added in July, involves violations of trafficking 5,000 kilos of cocaine in 2008; 23,000 kilos in 2007 and 19,000 kilos that same year. In January, the former Mexican official pleaded not guilty to charges of cocaine trafficking conspiracy and a false statement. Garcia Luna lived in Miami before his arrest in 2019 in Texas.

(CNN) - Prosecutors on Wednesday submitted a memo asking for Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmn to receive life in prison. Prosecutors argue those counts should be dismissed because they encompass some of the same charges as count one, which is a "continuing criminal enterprise" charge. Conviction of the top charge of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise carries a mandatory term of life in prison. Jeffrey Lichtman, an attorney for Guzmn, said his team expected the life sentence recommendation from prosecutors. Last week, prosecutors asked the judge to order Guzmn to pay a criminal forfeiture of about $12.7 billion to the US government.

(CNN) - A federal judge in New York Wednesday denied drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's bid for a new trial. The count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise carries a mandatory term of life in prison. Defense attorney Jeff Lichtman, in a statement, said Wednesday that the ruling further demonstrated the trial "was more of an inquisition, a show trial, than an exercise in true American justice." In March, Guzman's attorneys asked Cogan for a new trial and to recall the jurors back for an evidentiary hearing to find out if there had been misconduct. Prosecutors responded that the court's repeated instruction to jurors, their diligence during the trial, and overwhelming evidence against Guzman show that "the alleged media exposure did not prejudice the defendant."