United States Federal Witness Protection Program
Though Zambada Ortiz was registered as an inmate at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in San Diego since his arrest, it was leaked to the press in February 2015 that he was no longer there. Three months before pleading guilty of the charges, on 3 July 2014, sources within the MCC confirmed that had been transferred elsewhere. According to the prison's online database, Zambada Ortiz is not registered at the MCC. His register number 13069-408 at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) says that he is not in custody. It was possible that Zambada Ortiz was taken from the MCC and introduced to the United States Federal Witness Protection Program. If that was the case, he was likely sent to a residence where he was kept under surveillance with a GPS electronic monitoring bracelet.