Former Sinaloa Cartel Boss ‘El Mayo’ Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges

Former Mexican cartel kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Aug. 25.

Zambada Garcia, the longtime leader of the Sinaloa cartel, admitted to playing a role in a drug-trafficking operation that funneled large quantities of illicit substances, including cocaine and heroin, into the United States for years.

Zambada Garcia’s attorney, Frank Perez, confirmed to The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that his client agreed to plead guilty to the charges, but said that the deal was “not a cooperation agreement.”

“He recognizes that his actions over the course of many years constitute serious violations of the United States drug laws, and he accepts full responsibility for what he did wrong,” Perez said.

“I can state categorically that there is no deal under which he is cooperating with the United States Government or any other government.”

The attorney also said that his client is aware that his actions will have an “impact” on his home state of Sinaloa and that Zambada Garcia “calls upon the people of Sinaloa to remain calm, to exercise restraint, and to avoid violence.”

The drug kingpin appeared in federal court to change his plea two weeks after federal prosecutors said they wouldn’t seek the death penalty for his charges of racketeering conspiracy and running a continuing criminal enterprise.

Zambada Garcia was arrested in Texas last year, after which he pleaded not guilty to a number of trafficking and other charges, including money and gun laundering.

According to prosecutors, Zambada Garcia headed a group of violent and militarized cartel members, which included a private security force with weapons and hitmen. That group has allegedly carried out assassinations, kidnappings, and torture.

The prosecutors said that the Sinaloa cartel became the largest drug-trafficking organization in the world because of Zambada Garcia and cofounder Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

The same Brooklyn federal court was the venue for Guzmán’s life sentence in 2019. Several of Guzmán’s sons, who were also allegedly involved in the drug business, face federal charges.

In September 2024, Zambada Garcia pleaded not guilty in federal court to 17 charges, including drug distribution and engaging in a criminal enterprise.

The cartel leader was jailed, pending trial, by U.S. Magistrate Judge James Cho of the Eastern District of New York.

Prosecutor Francisco Navarro said Zambada Garcia, aged 76 at the time, was “one of the most, if not the most, powerful narcotics kingpins in the world.”

“A United States jail cell is the only thing that will prevent the defendant from committing further crimes and ensure his return to court,” Navarro said at the hearing.

Included in the docket for the 2024 trial was evidence that stretched back to 2009. Navarro said that the defendant had been indicted 16 times in the last two decades, and urged permanent detention pending trial.

“The defendant’s release would pose extraordinary danger to the community given the ease with which he can continue to engage in criminal conduct by, among other things, directing Cartel members to engage in narcotics trafficking and/or violence on his behalf,” he said.

“No condition or combination of conditions of release can assure the safety of the public or the defendant’s appearance at trial.”

Sam Dorman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.