Mexican drug lord Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada to plead guilty to federal charges
Aug 24, 2025, 9:00 PM | Updated: Aug 25, 2025, 5:18 pm
FILE - This undated image provided by the U.S. Department of State shows Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. (U.S. Department of State via AP)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(U.S. Department of State via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Mexican cartel kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada is expected to plead guilty Monday to federal charges related to his role in the violent drug trade that for years flooded the U.S. with cocaine, heroin and other illicit substances.
The longtime leader of the Sinaloa cartel is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Brooklyn for a change of plea hearing.
The appearance comes after federal prosecutors said two weeks ago that they wouldn’t seek the death penalty against Zambada, who was arrested in Texas last year.
Prosecutors, in a court filing ahead of Monday’s hearing, said they expect the 77-year-old to plead guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of running a continuing criminal enterprise.
Zambada pleaded not guilty last year to a range of drug trafficking and related charges, including gun and money laundering offenses.
Lawyers for Zambada didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.
Prosecutors say the Sinaloa cartel evolved from a regional player into the largest drug trafficking organization in the world under the leadership of Zambada and co-founder Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
They say Zambada presided over a violent, highly militarized cartel with a private security force armed with powerful weapons and a cadre of “sicarios,” or hitmen, that carried out assassinations, kidnappings and torture.
Guzmán was sentenced to life behind bars following his conviction in the same federal court in Brooklyn in 2019. His two sons, who ran a cartel faction, also face federal charges.
