U.S. Court Imposes Life Sentence on Sinaloa Cartel Co‑Founder ‘El Mayo’ and Orders $15 Billion Forfeiture

Mexico Challenges FBI Over Alleged Involvement in Sinaloa Cartel Leader’s Abduction

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has sharply condemned the United States for its alleged role in the 2024 abduction of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, accusing Washington of deceit and a breach of Mexico’s sovereignty. She warned that the episode threatens diplomatic ties and highlights concerns over U.S. interference in Mexican affairs.

On Monday, a U.S. court sentenced Sinaloa Cartel co‑founder Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García to life imprisonment and ordered the forfeiture of $15 billion in illicit drug proceeds, the Justice Department announced.

U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan noted that the law mandated a life term, but he also said the punishment fits the gravity of the crimes.

“The staggering volume of drugs linked to his operation and the documented killings associated with his cartel fully support Congress’s decision to impose a mandatory life sentence,” Judge Cogan stated.

He joins the short list of high‑ranking Mexican drug lords, such as Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, who received a life sentence from a U.S. court in 2019.

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A photograph shows former Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García in federal custody beside a Beechcraft King Air aircraft that flew him and Joaquín Guzmán López, son of ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, to the United States in July 2024, displayed at the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. (REUTERS/Paul Ratje)

At 76, Zambada García pleaded guilty in August 2025 to racketeering conspiracy and continuing criminal enterprise after prosecutors abandoned any effort to seek the death penalty.

He was taken into custody in July 2024 together with Joaquín Guzmán López, one of Guzmán’s sons, after their aircraft touched down on U.S. soil; Guzmán López has since pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and a kidnapping that occurred the same month.

Federal prosecutor Joseph Nocella said after the sentencing that Guzmán López confessed to abducting Zambada García in hopes of earning leniency from U.S. authorities.

A photograph shows a reward notice for former Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García placed beside the same Beechcraft King Air that carried him and Guzmán López to the United States in July 2024, displayed at the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. (REUTERS/Paul Ratje)

“The United States has made clear that it does not tolerate kidnapping and will offer no credit for such actions,” Nocella added.

Guzmán López remains awaiting sentencing.

Zambada García told the court on Monday that he accepts responsibility for the damage he caused.

“Nobody wins in a conflict like this. To the younger generation, I urge you to choose another way,” he said.

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Judge Cogan recommended that Zambada García be held in a facility capable of providing appropriate medical treatment for his progressive health conditions.

“For almost four decades, Ismael Zambada García flooded American communities with drugs, reaped billions in profit, and ordered the killing of anyone who obstructed him. That era has now ended,” Nocella stated.

Sinaloa Cartel co‑founder Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García was sentenced to life imprisonment in a United States penitentiary. (REUTERS/Gustavo Graf)

“He will remain behind bars in the United States for the rest of his life, precisely where he belongs,” the official added, noting that the sentence resulted from relentless cooperation between U.S. and Mexican authorities who would not allow Zambada García’s long evasion of justice to continue. “We trust that this outcome delivers at least some measure of justice to the countless victims of the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug trade and violence.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

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