El Mayo Jailed For Life As US Ends Reign of Sinaloa Cartel Co-Founder

A United States court has sentenced notorious Mexican drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada to life imprisonment, bringing an end to the decades-long criminal career of one of the world’s most powerful narcotics traffickers.

US District Judge Brian Cogan handed down the mandatory life sentence in a federal court in Brooklyn on Monday, nearly two years after the 76-year-old Sinaloa Cartel co-founder was tricked into flying to Texas, where he was arrested in a sting operation.

Zambada, who co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with the imprisoned Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in the late 1980s, also received an order to forfeit $15 billion in drug-trafficking proceeds.

Last year, he pleaded guilty to drug smuggling and conspiracy charges under a deal that spared him the death penalty.

Speaking through a Spanish interpreter during sentencing, Zambada apologised for his crimes and urged younger generations to reject violence.

“I am sorry for the harm I caused and for the example I set,” he told the court, adding that “the violence must end” because too many lives had been destroyed by organised crime.

US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr described the sentence as the close of a dark chapter, saying Zambada had spent nearly four decades flooding American communities with illicit drugs while ordering the killings of anyone who stood in his way.

Authorities said the $15 billion forfeiture reflected profits generated from his leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world’s largest drug trafficking organisations responsible for smuggling cocaine, fentanyl and other narcotics into the United States.

Zambada was captured in July 2024 after Joaquín Guzmán López, one of El Chapo’s sons, allegedly deceived him into boarding a flight supposedly bound for northern Mexico to inspect clandestine airstrips.

Instead, the aircraft landed in Texas, where US agents arrested both men.

Guzmán López has since pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and is awaiting sentencing.

Since Zambada’s arrest, the Sinaloa Cartel has been locked in a violent internal conflict, with rival factions battling for control across Mexico’s Sinaloa state.

The fighting has left hundreds missing and fuelled widespread insecurity.

Zambada had requested to serve his sentence in a prison medical facility, citing age-related health problems.

However, prosecutors argued he remains a significant security risk who could continue directing criminal operations from custody.

The US Bureau of Prisons will decide where he is incarcerated.

Despite the landmark conviction, analysts believe the sentence is unlikely to significantly weaken the Sinaloa Cartel or stem the flow of cocaine and fentanyl into the United States, as criminal organisations in Mexico have historically adapted quickly to leadership changes.

The sentencing comes as President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on Mexican drug cartels, designating several as terrorist organisations while urging tougher action against organised crime.

Mexico has also deployed thousands of troops to Sinaloa as part of efforts to curb cartel violence.