American judge Brian Cogan sentenced Ismael Zambada, known as El Mayo, co-founder of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel, to life in prison on Monday at a court in Brooklyn, according to the BBC. The court ordered the 76-year-old to pay $15 billion.
According to the US Department of Justice, this amount corresponds to earnings from drug trafficking during his leadership of the criminal organisation. Zambada reached a plea deal with prosecutors last year, admitting to drug trafficking and conspiracy in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. The guilty plea carried a mandatory life sentence.
The Sinaloa cartel was founded in the late 1980s alongside Joaquin Guzman, known as El Chapo, who is already serving a life sentence in the US. It was El Chapo’s son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who lured Zambada onto an aircraft in July 2024, convincing him that they were flying to inspect secret airstrips in northern Mexico. Instead, the aircraft landed in Texas, where Zambada was arrested. Guzman Lopez also pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and is awaiting sentencing.
Zambada apologised for the harm caused and the bad example he had set at the hearing. "Violence must stop," he said, urging younger generations to choose a different path. Prosecutor Joseph Nocella stated that Zambada had earned billions of dollars over nearly four decades and ordered the murders of anyone who stood in his way.
Since Zambada’s arrest, the Sinaloa cartel has been rocked by a war between two rival factions that has engulfed the eponymous Mexican state, with hundreds of people listed as missing. Zambada has requested placement in a prison hospital due to health issues, while prosecutors are seeking a stricter prison regime, believing he could still manage trafficking operations from behind bars. The final decision will be made by the US Federal Bureau of Prisons.
