By Allan Lengel
Ismael Zambada García, aka El Mayo, a former leader and co-founder of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, pleaded guilty Monday in Brooklyn federal court to running a continuing criminal enterprise and racketeering.
“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,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement.
Authorities said the plea was the result of a joint prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Brooklyn and Miami and the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section of the Criminal Division of the Attorney General’s Office.
“Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada led one of the world’s deadliest cartels, pumping fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and meth into our communities,” said Terrance Cole, head of the DEA. “His guilty plea proves no cartel boss is beyond the reach of justice.”
Authorities said Zambada García’s rise to power began with the cartel’s inception and ended with his arrest in July 2024.
