Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada pleads guilty to drug trafficking in New York
The drug trafficker pleaded guilty to charges of running a continuing a criminal enterprise and racketeering conspiracy.
Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada wanted photo.
(AFP) Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, co-founder of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel in the 1980s, pleaded guilty of drug trafficking before a New York court, which prevents him from going to trial, although his crimes are punishable by life in prison like his ex-partner Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.
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"Guilty," Zambada said in Spanish, of charges of running a continuing criminal enterprise and organized crime activities within a criminal group, for which he asked forgiveness after acknowledging that he "promoted the corruption of police, military commanders and politicians" in Mexico.
The drug trafficker will have to pay a fine of $15 billion, and his sentencing will take place on Jan. 13, 2026.
Zambada previously pleaded not Guilty
Zambada was arrested on July 25, 2024, on U.S. soil after arriving in a small plane in the company of Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of his partner in the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.
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