Attorney Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez involved in Polanco restaurant altercation

Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez Polanco restaurant altercation OFAC sanctions Cártel del Noreste Ismael El Mayo Zambada

Criminal defense attorney Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez was involved in a physical and verbal altercation at the El Karisma restaurant in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City. Witnesses and video recordings indicate the conflict began after a dispute regarding a table reservation, leading Penilla Rodríguez to allegedly attempt to assault the restaurant's manager and a waiter.

Local police from the Mexico City Secretariat of Citizen Security intervened to contain the situation, and reinforcements were requested due to the attorney's resistance.

Penilla Rodríguez is a high-profile lawyer known for representing Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García and Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, alias ‘Z-40’. In April 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned him for allegedly acting as an intermediary for the Cártel del Noreste to help evade legal scrutiny.