Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, has pleaded guilty to leading a criminal enterprise and racketeering. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the plea in Brooklyn, stating that Zambada will spend the rest of his life in federal prison. The cartel, designated as a foreign terrorist organization, has been implicated in decades of drug trafficking, including the importation of fentanyl, which has led to thousands of deaths in the U.S.
Zambada and his accomplices made billions of dollars by importing poisonous drugs like fentanyl into the U.S. over the past three decades, according to Bondi. Under Zambada’s leadership, the cartel shifted from cocaine to heroin and fentanyl, purchasing precursor chemicals from China and manufacturing the drug in Mexico before flooding U.S. communities with it. The cartel used military-grade weapons, directed hitmen, and committed violent crimes to protect its operations, with Zambada reportedly paying bribes to corrupt officials to ensure the protection of his drug shipments.
Bondi emphasized that Zambada’s crimes have been so prolific that he has been indicted in no fewer than 16 federal courts across the U.S. in the past two decades. However, under President Trump’s leadership, he has finally been brought to justice. With the plea agreement, Zambada’s Western District of Texas indictment was transferred to the Eastern District of New York for sentencing, which will occur on January 13, 2026. He faces a mandatory life sentence in prison for leading a continuing criminal enterprise and a potential life term for racketeering. Zambada will also be required to forfeit $15 billion as part of his sentencing.