Judge: Let jailed cartel lieutenant outdoors

A federal judge has ordered prison authorities to let a drug-cartel lieutenant jailed in Chicago outside for exercise.

At a Wednesday hearing, Judge Ruben Castillo heeded defense complaints that Vicente Zambada hasn’t been allowed onto a rooftop recreation area or gotten any fresh air since his extradition from Mexico a year and a half ago.

Castillo sounded skeptical about prosecution claims that snipers could assassinate Zambada or that the 35-year-old could escape from atop the 27-story jail.

Zambada’s drug-trafficking trial is set for February. But Castillo says complex pretrial issues could delay it and mean Zambada wouldn’t get outside for more than two years.

Standing in an orange jumpsuit with his legs shackled, Zambada looked relaxed in court as an interpreter stood at his side translating the judge’s remarks.

Zambada’s lawyers claim he and other cartel leaders were granted immunity by U.S. agents — and carte blanche to smuggle cocaine over the border — in exchange for intelligence about rival cartels engaged in bloody turf wars in Mexico. Federal authorities scoff at that idea.