Sinaloa Cartel leader 'El Mayo' Zambada sentenced to life in US prison

On Monday, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, a key player in the Sinaloa Cartel, received a life sentence from US District Judge Brian Cogan in a Brooklyn federal court. The 76-year-old drug kingpin had pleaded guilty in August 2025 to racketeering conspiracy and running a criminal enterprise after the Justice Department decided not to seek the death penalty, which would have resulted in a life sentence anyway. Over the years, Zambada admitted to moving millions of kilograms of cocaine. He was arrested in July 2024 with Joaquín Guzmán López, son of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, at a small airport in New Mexico. Guzmán López has also confessed to drug trafficking. Zambada’s lawyer, Frank Perez, indicated that his client anticipated this life sentence when he took responsibility.