Ismael Zambada Garcia, known as “El Mayo,” pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn to leading the Sinaloa Cartel and to charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The plea was entered before United States District Judge Brian M. Cogan.
Zambada Garcia faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison without parole for leading a continuing criminal enterprise, and up to life imprisonment on the RICO charge. As part of his plea agreement, he has agreed to a $15 billion forfeiture money judgment.
The case consolidates indictments from several districts, including the Eastern District of New York and the Western District of Texas. Under the agreement, remaining indictments will be dismissed at sentencing.
The charges cover Zambada Garcia’s leadership role in the cartel from 1989 through January 2024. Prosecutors described how under his leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel imported large quantities of narcotics—including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl—into the United States over several decades. The organization laundered billions of dollars back to Mexico using extensive transportation networks by land, air, and sea.
Authorities said that after Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s capture, Zambada Garcia became one of the primary leaders of the cartel. Testimony at previous trials indicated that widespread corruption among law enforcement officials enabled drug shipments and protected cartel operations.
United States Attorney General Pamela Bondi commented: “This foreign terrorist committed horrific crimes against the American people — he will now pay for those crimes by spending the rest of his life behind bars in an American prison. Today marks a crucial victory in President Trump’s ongoing fight to completely eliminate foreign terrorist organizations and protect American citizens from deadly drugs and violence.”
“With today’s guilty pleas, ‘El Mayo’ Zambada Garcia and ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, the two co-founders of the Sinaloa Cartel—one of the largest, most violent and most destructive cartels in history—will live out the rest of their days in United States federal prison cells without the possibility of parole,” stated United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella. “Zambada Garcia has now been held accountable for the tons of illegal narcotics, including cocaine and fentanyl, that he and his organization trafficked for decades, and the murders and other acts of violence committed in furtherance of that enterprise. Today’s guilty plea were possible because of the work of law enforcement personnel in the United States, Mexico and elsewhere. We hope that their hard work and the pleas can provide a measure of solace to the countless victims of Zambada Garcia’s narcotics trafficking and violence and their families.”
“For decades, under El Mayo’s leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel made billions of dollars by importing poisonous drugs to the United States, flooding our streets with cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl,” stated Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “With El Mayo’s conviction, the Department has now brought both founders of the Sinaloa Cartel to justice, and the growing list of international cartel leaders that have faced justice in American courtrooms sends an unequivocal message to those who seek to fill their shoes that the same fate awaits them if they do. Today’s guilty plea is a credit to collaboration between agencies.”
“Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada led one of world’s deadliest cartels… His guilty plea proves no cartel boss is beyond reach,” said DEA Administrator Terrance Cole.
Acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons added: “Now… one world’s most prolific… traffickers is going face justice for lives he’s stolen…”
FBI Director Kash Patel stated: “Today’s plea is a proud moment… as founders… face consequences…”
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said: “After years evading justice… With his conviction… reign violence terror over…”
United States Attorney Justin R. Simmons noted: “…Under Zambada Garcia's leadership…the Sinaloa Cartel produced trafficked thousands kilograms narcotics through our border... Now...we will continue systematically eradicate Mexican drug cartels..."
The prosecution was led by attorneys from multiple U.S. Attorneys' Offices along with investigators from FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; DEA; as well as support from other district offices.
This case falls under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative coordinated by DOJ targeting transnational criminal organizations using resources such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) [More about OCDETFs](https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf/about-ocdetf-program).
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