Sinaloa cartel co-founder El Mayo Zambada gets life in US prison
What's new: The 76-year-old avoided the death penalty in a 2025 plea deal, but his conviction required a mandatory life term.
Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the 76-year-old co-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, was sentenced to life in prison in federal court in Brooklyn on July 20 after pleading guilty last year to major US drug trafficking charges. US District Judge Brian Cogan imposed the sentence, which was mandatory under Zambada’s plea deal. Prosecutors had dropped pursuit of the death penalty after he admitted to crimes including racketeering conspiracy and continuing criminal enterprise. Zambada was arrested in July 2024 after a flight carrying him and Joaquin Guzman Lopez landed in the United States. The Bureau of Prisons will decide where he serves the sentence as prosecutors argue he could still direct cartel activity from prison.