NEW YORK (AP) — A Mexican drug lord arrested in the U.S. may face trial in New York City after prosecutors requested his transfer from Texas on Thursday.

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, known as a leader and co-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, is facing charges in several U.S. states. He and a son of notorious Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán were arrested last month after flying to New Mexico. Zambada said he was kidnapped in his home country while on his way to a supposed meeting with a Mexican official.

Zambada, 76, has so far appeared in U.S. federal court in El Paso, Texas, one of the judicial districts where he was indicted, and has pleaded not guilty to organized crime conspiracy, drug conspiracy and other charges.

Federal prosecutors in Texas on Thursday asked a court to hold a hearing to begin the necessary procedural steps for his extradition to the New York judicial district, which includes Brooklyn, where the elder Guzmán was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 on drug and conspiracy charges.

If the prosecutor’s wish is carried out, the trial against Zambada in Texas would continue after the trial in New York.

A message seeking comment was sent to Zambada’s lawyers.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn declined to comment. Zambada is accused of operating a continuing criminal organization, conspiracy to commit murder, drug offenses and other crimes.

Meanwhile, Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of “El Chapo” who was arrested along with Zambada, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges in federal court in Chicago.

Zambada co-led the Sinaloa Cartel with the elder Guzmán, which grew from a regional cartel into a massive manufacturer and smuggler of illegal fentanyl pills and other drugs into the United States, authorities say.

Zambada was considered a good negotiator and was seen as the syndicate’s strategist and dealmaker. He was believed to be more involved in the syndicate’s day-to-day affairs than the more extroverted Guzmán.

Zambada, who keeps a low profile, had never been behind bars until his arrest in the United States last month.

He often quarreled with Guzmán’s sons, the so-called Chapitos. Fearing that Zambada’s arrest could trigger a violent power struggle within the cartel, the Mexican government immediately dispatched 200 special forces soldiers to the state of Sinaloa. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador publicly appealed to the cartel factions not to fight each other.

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