Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads guilty to leading criminal enterprise

Ismael Zambada Garcia on Monday admitted to serving as a principal leader of the criminal Sinaloa Cartel, according to the Department of Justice. The 75-year-old, colloquially known as El Mayo, pleaded guilty to helping run what the DOJ described as one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world.

Zambada Garcia regularly directed the cartel to use brutal violence, intimidation, and murder to silence potential witnesses and dissuade law enforcement from protecting locals, the DOJ added. The cartel’s activities expanded to include fentanyl production and trafficking under Zambada Garcia’s leadership through the purchase of precursor chemicals from China and production of the drug in Mexican labs, the DOJ said. The billions of dollars in illegal profits allowed the group to expand operations and develop transportation networks, using land, air, and sea, through South and Central America and into the United States, the release said.

The cartel pumped fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and meth into American streets, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement worked for years to indict Zambada Garcia, according to the release. Zambada Garcia’s plea is a proud moment for the FBI and other federal partners, according to FBI Director Kash Patel. He added that federal agencies will continue working to put an end to the cartel’s operations for good.

What exactly is he being charged with? Federal courts in New York, Texas, Illinois, California, and Washington D.C., previously filed indictments against Zambada Garcia. The Monday plea deal will include the Texas and New York indictments and dismiss all others, the DOJ said. The New York and Texas indictments accuse Zambada Garcia of leading and maintaining the criminal enterprise for 35 years, from 1989 through 2024. He pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy involving money laundering, murder, and drug conspiracies, along with violating state laws for murder and kidnapping between January 2000 and April 2012.

What kind of sentence is he facing? The 75-year-old will be sentenced on Jan. 13, 2026, and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison. Zambada Garcia also agreed to a $15 billion forfeiture judgment, the release noted. This foreign terrorist is paying for the horrific crimes he committed against the American people, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. This plea marks a crucial victory in the Trump administration’s fight against foreign terror groups, she added.

Dig deeper: Read Lynde Langdon’s report on Zambada Garcia’s partner and infamous drug kingpin, El Chapo, being sentenced to life in prison.