TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Mexican drug trafficker Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Tuesday for co-founding and leading the notorious Sinaloa cartel.
Zambada was one of the most prominent Mexican drug traffickers to face sentencing in a United States (US) court since Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was sentenced to life in prison in 2019.
"The almost unimaginable amount of drugs attributable to him and the number of murders that we can document is enough to justify Congress's decision to make this a mandatory life sentence," US District Judge Brian Cogan said.
The 76-year-old Zambada apologized "for the harm I caused and for the example I set," urging future generations to "choose a different path."
Zambada apologizes before sentencing
He was arrested in July 2024 after he said he was kidnapped in Mexico and flown to Texas.
Zambada helped found and lead the Sinaloa cartel, becoming one of the most wanted figures for US intelligence and law enforcement agencies for decades.
According to prosecutors, he ordered torture and plotted murders, including the killing of his own nephew, as the cartel flooded the US with tons of cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs.
He pleaded guilty to charges that included engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and racketeering conspiracy, acknowledging culpability for 85 underlying crimes. In exchange, prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.
"I grew up in an environment where violence and crime seemed normal, but now I know that's no excuse," Zambada said in court on Monday. "There comes a time when every person must take responsibility for their decisions. I didn't, and many people paid the price."
"El Chapo" partner joins cartel leaders serving life terms
Zambada's former partner "El Chapo" is already serving a life sentence in the United States.
He was convicted in 2019 and is serving a life sentence at the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.
Together they built the Sinaloa cartel into one of the world's most powerful drug trafficking organizations.
The Sinaloa cartel is one of six Mexican drug gangs that US President Donald Trump has designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Zambada was arrested with El Chapo's son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of El Chapo's sons, who has pleaded guilty to federal drug charges. He has yet to be sentenced.
Zambada's arrest led to a splintering of the Sinaloa cartel, pitting his loyalists against backers of Guzman's sons, dubbed the Chapitos, or "little Chapos."
Read: Mexico Says Alleged CIA Agents 'Not Authorized' on its Soil
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