WASHINGTON, DC — Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, 75, a founding figure of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, pleaded guilty on Monday to leading a continuing criminal enterprise and engaging in racketeering, marking a major blow against one of the world’s most violent and far-reaching drug trafficking organizations.
Zambada, a longtime fugitive and shadowy figure within the cartel’s leadership structure, admitted in federal court to orchestrating decades of international drug smuggling operations, including the distribution of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine throughout the United States. His plea brings a formal end to a criminal career that spanned more than 40 years and fueled a multibillion-dollar drug empire linked to widespread violence and corruption across North America.
The Department of Justice confirmed that Zambada’s conviction includes charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, and that he will face life imprisonment in a U.S. federal prison.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi called Zambada a “foreign terrorist” responsible for “horrific crimes against the American people,” and said his conviction represents a critical milestone in President Trump’s effort to dismantle foreign drug cartels.
Federal officials emphasized the scope of the Sinaloa Cartel’s impact, citing the cartel’s role in flooding U.S. streets with deadly drugs and operating with near impunity in Mexico for decades. Law enforcement agencies from the FBI, DEA, ICE, and Homeland Security Investigations coordinated efforts in bringing the case to justice, culminating in last year’s superseding indictment against Zambada on fentanyl trafficking and organized crime charges.
Zambada, who remained elusive for years even as other cartel leaders were arrested or killed, was long believed to be the top strategist behind the cartel’s operations, working in parallel with former cartel kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Officials say the guilty plea closes one of the longest-running and most significant cartel cases in U.S. history.