Sinaloa Cartel leader ‘El Mayo’ sentenced to life in U.S. prison

Mexican drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who co-led the Sinaloa Cartel for nearly four decades, has been sentenced to life in prison and ordered to forfeit $15 billion.

Zambada, 76, was sentenced Monday in the Eastern District of New York after pleading guilty to leading a continuing criminal enterprise and violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

Federal prosecutors said Zambada was a principal leader of the Sinaloa Cartel from January 1989 until his arrest in July 2024. During that time, the organization trafficked tons of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States while laundering billions of dollars in drug proceeds back to Mexico.

The cartel initially focused on transporting cocaine from South America through Central America and Mexico. It later expanded into fentanyl, purchasing precursor chemicals from Chinese companies and producing thousands of kilograms of the drug in laboratories across Mexico for distribution in the United States.

Zambada also ordered murders and other acts of violence to protect the cartel, silence witnesses and prevent law enforcement officers from interfering with its operations, according to the Justice Department.

He avoided arrest for decades by bribing Mexican government officials and law enforcement officers. Corrupt officials protected cartel members and drug shipments, provided information about military operations and interfered with efforts to capture its leaders.

Zambada increased his power within the cartel after his longtime partner, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, was captured in 2016. Guzmán is also serving a life sentence in the United States.

Zambada was arrested in July 2024 after arriving on a private plane near El Paso, Texas, with Joaquín Guzmán López, one of El Chapo’s sons.

Zambada later said Guzmán López had abducted him in Mexico and taken him to the United States against his will. His arrest led to an ongoing war within the Sinaloa Cartel between Zambada’s faction, known as Los Mayos, and the faction led by El Chapo’s sons, known as Los Chapitos.