Archive · 20 Jul 2026
Mexican Drug Kingpin Zambada Sentenced to Life in US
Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, a 76-year-old leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, is going to be sentenced to life in prison in the United States.
He admitted to shipping millions of kilograms of cocaine over many years.
The sentencing will happen in a court in Brooklyn, New York.
Zambada was arrested in July 2024 when he landed in New Mexico.
His lawyer asked for him to be in a prison with good medical care, but the prosecutors said the prison needs to be secure because his followers still control the cartel.
Another leader of the cartel, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, is already serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison in Colorado.
Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, 76, will be sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. for drug trafficking charges.
Zambada pleaded guilty to charges including racketeering conspiracy and continuing criminal enterprise.
The sentencing will take place in Brooklyn federal court on July 20, 2025.
Zambada was arrested in July 2024 alongside Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of Guzman’s sons.
Prosecutors expressed security concerns about Zambada potentially directing cartel activities from prison.
- Who
- Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, a 76-year-old Mexican drug trafficker and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel
- What
- Sentencing to life in prison in the U.S. for drug trafficking charges
- When
- July 20, 2025
- Where
- Brooklyn federal court, New York
- Why
- Zambada pleaded guilty to charges including racketeering conspiracy and continuing criminal enterprise
- Name
- Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada
- Age
- 76
- Charges
- Racketeering conspiracy, continuing criminal enterprise
- Sentence
- Life imprisonment
- Cartel
- Sinaloa Cartel
- Arrest Date
- July 2024
- Sentencing Date
- July 20, 2025
- Location
- Brooklyn federal court