Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the 76-year-old co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, was sentenced to life in prison Monday in a Brooklyn federal courtroom. The man who helped build one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations on earth told the judge he was sorry before learning his fate.
“I am here to say I’m sorry for the harm I caused, and the example I set,” Zambada said. “I accept my punishment. I am not here for compassion.”
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan delivered the sentence, as reported by Reuters. Zambada also faces $15 billion in financial penalties, the largest such forfeiture tied to a cartel prosecution in recent history.
The sentence was guaranteed. Zambada pleaded guilty in August 2025 to charges including racketeering conspiracy and continuing criminal enterprise. The Justice Department agreed not to seek the death penalty in exchange for the plea. The charges carried mandatory life imprisonment.
Zambada was arrested in July 2024 after a plane carrying him and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of imprisoned kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, landed at a small airstrip in New Mexico. Both men have now pleaded guilty to federal drug charges.
The Sinaloa Cartel is responsible for flooding American cities with cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine for decades. Prosecutors say Zambada, even from a federal detention cell, remains a security risk. Individuals loyal to him still control active cartel operations.
“Those security concerns will continue for the foreseeable future because individuals loyal to the defendant continue to control the Cartel,” prosecutors wrote in a July 13 court filing.
Zambada’s attorney, Frank Perez, asked Judge Cogan to recommend placement in a facility equipped for the elderly inmate’s medical needs. Prosecutors pushed back, arguing that standard prisons may not be equipped to prevent Zambada from continuing to direct cartel activity.
The Bureau of Prisons has not yet confirmed a placement. El Chapo is currently serving his life sentence at a maximum-security facility in Florence, Colorado.
Zambada is one of the most significant Mexican drug traffickers to face sentencing in a U.S. court since El Chapo received life in 2019. His prosecution represents a continued push by federal law enforcement to dismantle the leadership structure of cartels that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.
The apology in the courtroom drew little sympathy from prosecutors. The man who helped build a criminal empire responsible for tens of thousands of deaths, corrupted police and government officials across Mexico, and fueled an American overdose crisis that still claims more than 100,000 lives per year showed up Monday and asked for understanding.
