According to the Illinois case court docket, two other defendants are set for trial in May and the pleadings are filled with details from cooperators. The judge is scheduled to rule on some motions Feb. 26 at 1:00 pm. Zambada Niebla's status conference, has been pushed back from Feb. 27 to March. (El Proceso's article was written before the court pushed back the hearing.)

Zambada-Niebla and his father Ismael Zambada-Garcia are also charged in a 2003 Indictment in the District of Columbia, and El Proceso seems to be suggesting that Jesus Vicente's plea will be in that case. His lawyer in the Illinois case was added to the D.C. case in May, 2013. Since Ismael Zambada-Garcia's brother, Jesus Zambada-Garcia ("El Rey"), who was charged in the 2009 EDNY case along with Chapo and Ismael, agreed to plead guilty in the District of Columbia, it's not outside the realm of possibility. But it's also not confirmed as of now. PACER has no reference to the D.C. case against Jesus Zambada-Garcia, which I assume means it's sealed. Also, the Bureau of Prisons shows him as having been released from its custody. Could he be in the witness protection program? Would he testify against Chapo and his brother and nephews?

Seraphin Zambada-Ortiz, another son of Ismael Zambada-Garcia, charged in a San Diego case, also appears headed for a plea deal. His lawyer and the Government have filed a motion to vacate the next status hearing date, saying the parties are having "discussions."

I think the main question now is how long it will take Mexico to find Ismael Zambada-Garcia. It shouldn't be long with the bodyguards talking and authorities in possession of the satellite phones.

At this point, it's hard to see how Chapo ever sees freedom again, between the new charges in Mexico, the years left on the sentence he was serving when he escaped in 2001, and the multiple indictments all over the U.S.