Mexican drug lord Ismael “Elmailo” Zambada pleaded guilty in a New York court to two drug smuggling and conspiracy charges, ending one of the longest and most infamous criminal careers in the history of organized crime.
Zambada wasn't just a drug lord.
He was the founder of the Sinaloa cartel and for many years was Mexico's largest and most powerful criminal organization, with an incredible global reach.
Last year he pleaded not guilty to drug smuggling, gun driving and money laundering attacks. But now he has changed his plea before a federal judge in Brooklyn.
In doing so, he formally accepted his role in creating a vast criminal network that sent large quantities of cocaine and other drugs to the United States since co-founding the cartel in the late 1980s.
The Associated Press reported in court that Zambada apologized for his actions.
“I recognize that illegal drugs have done to the people of the United States and Mexico,” he said through a Spanish interpreter, the AP reported. “I apologize for all of that and I will take responsibility for my actions.”
Local Mexican media also said Zambada recognized “the organization that led corrupt corruption in my country by paying to police, military commanders and politicians who allowed me to operate freely.”
This step comes weeks after US prosecutors confirmed they were not seeking the death penalty for the 77-year-old Mexican Kingpin.
Zambada was arrested last year in Texas after an extraordinary double-cross from his former ally sons, the imprisoned co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel.
El Chapo was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 in the same court.
After his arrest, the cartel split into two major factions. One is led by El Mayo, and his rival is led by the son of Guzman, known as “Los Chapitos.” The conflict between the two continues to infuriate. Especially in the state of Sinaloa itself.
In late July 2024, Zambada was said to have been invited to a meeting with one of El Chapo's son Joaquin Guzman Lopez.
Initial reports suggested that Guzman Lopez would board his rival on a light aircraft, but Zambada later claimed he was ambushed and overwhelmed by Los Chapitos and was forced to remove him by Texas.
US law enforcement officers were waiting for the aircraft when they landed near El Paso, and both men were immediately taken into custody.
By entering a guilty plea, Zambada is expected to receive a more generous sentence. Although he reportedly reportedly had poor health, he may have deduced that he would be futile given Guzman's beliefs and life sentence in 2019.
“El Mayo will spend the rest of his life behind the bar. He will die in the federal prison in the United States where he belongs,” Attorney General Pam Bondy told reporters.
Last year, it was confirmed that both Guzman's son Joaquin and his younger brother Obigio were negotiating plea negotiations with the US government.
In May, 17 members of the Guzman family were escorted to the United States by officials. Last month, Ovidio pleaded guilty in Chicago to multiple charges of drug smuggling and ongoing criminal enterprise involvement.
At his height, Zambada was perhaps the most powerful drug lord in the world.
There was more shadow than the other Kingpins who escaped prison in 2001 and 2015, especially El Chapo, made headlines around the world.
For about 50 years he was arrested or successfully captured. Meanwhile, he oversaw the vast transport of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine via land, sea and air.
Now, in US courts, one of the most enduring names in global drug trafficking has embraced his role at the top of the world's largest and most sophisticated criminal networks.
He is scheduled to be declared in January 2026.