Drug lord ‘El Mayo’ sentenced to life in prison in New York

Fifty years of criminal reign ending behind bars. Mexican drug trafficker Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was sentenced Monday, July 20, to life in prison by a federal court in New York for co-directing the powerful Sinaloa cartel. Aged 76, “El Mayo” is the former senior associate of the founder of this criminal organization, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in a high-security facility in Colorado.

Incarcerated in the United States since July 2024, the former drug lord pleaded guilty in August 2025 to several charges related to his responsibilities at the head of the criminal organization. In exchange for this admission of guilt, the American authorities had waived their request for the death penalty against him.

An internal war between the factions of the Sinaloa cartel

In a crowded Brooklyn courtroom, dressed in a beige inmate jumpsuit, a frail-looking Ismael Zambada read a statement in Spanish in which he admitted that his actions “have caused harm” and urged young people to renounce violence.

“El Mayo” was arrested when he arrived by plane on American soil in July 2024, at the same time as Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of the sons of his former founding partner. It was a trap: the Guzman son admitted to having duped Zambada to transfer him to the United States and obtain leniency from the judges. He in turn pleaded guilty to drug trafficking.

This betrayal of the son of “El Chapo” triggered an internal war between the factions of the Sinaloa cartel which has since left more than 1,200 dead in Mexico. Two other Guzman sons are still active in the country and lead the so-called “Chapitos” faction, which American authorities consider a major axis of fentanyl trafficking.