Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael Zambada faces life sentence in US
via Punch Nigeria3 min read
Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, a founding leader of the Sinaloa cartel, is scheduled for sentencing in New York on Monday, a ruling expected to result in a life prison term. Zambada, 76, was arrested at a US airport in July 2024, claiming he was tricked into boarding a plane that delivered him to US authorities. Known for maintaining a low profile, Zambada spent decades rising through cartel ranks, evading capture and assassination attempts. Born in 1950 in Sinaloa, he began his criminal career with the Guadalajara and Juarez cartels before co-founding the Sinaloa cartel with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in the 1980s and 1990s. Zambada played a key role in bribing officials, establishing distribution networks across the United States, and moving billions of dollars back to Mexico, leading the Sinaloa cartel to become the world's largest. US court documents describe him as intelligent and ruthless, alleging he ordered the killing of his nephew and engaged in "systematic assassinations" of cartel members, police, and military personnel. In a 2010 interview, Zambada stated he feared jail more than death and believed his arrest or death would not alter Mexico's drug trafficking landscape. Almost a year after his US detention, he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and organized crime charges. His former partner, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, is already serving a life sentence in the United States. Zambada's plea deal with US authorities includes a mandatory minimum term of life imprisonment
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