Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a U.S. federal court in Brooklyn, New York, bringing an end to one of the most significant criminal prosecutions involving a cartel leader in recent years.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan imposed the mandatory life sentence after Zambada, 76, pleaded guilty in 2025 to charges including racketeering conspiracy and operating a continuing criminal enterprise. As part of his plea agreement, he admitted to overseeing the trafficking of massive quantities of cocaine and other illicit drugs into the United States over several decades.
Federal prosecutors described Zambada as one of the most influential figures in international drug trafficking, arguing that he played a central role in expanding the Sinaloa Cartel into one of the world’s most powerful criminal organisations. They said the cartel was responsible for moving millions of kilograms of narcotics ncluding cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States while relying on bribery, violence and intimidation to maintain its operations.
Zambada was arrested in July 2024 after arriving in New Mexico aboard a private aircraft with Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of imprisoned cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. His arrest marked one of the biggest victories for U.S. law enforcement against the Sinaloa Cartel and triggered a violent power struggle among rival factions in northwestern Mexico.
During the sentencing hearing, Zambada accepted responsibility for his crimes and called for an end to the violence associated with the drug trade. His lawyers requested that he serve his sentence in a federal medical facility because of his deteriorating health, but prosecutors argued that he could still exert influence over the cartel from prison.
The life sentence places Zambada alongside fellow Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is already serving a life sentence in a U.S. supermax prison. U.S. officials said the ruling underscores Washington’s commitment to dismantling transnational criminal organisations responsible for drug trafficking and organised violence.
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