El Mayo Zambada Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court

Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada García pleaded guilty on August 25, 2025 to racketeering conspiracy and continuing criminal enterprise in U.S. federal court in Brooklyn. His arrest and prosecution closed an era: the Sinaloa Cartel co-founder who had managed institutional corruption with a bribery budget estimated at $1 million per month, and who had evaded capture for over four decades, would spend the remainder of his life incarcerated. His son Mayito Flaco continues to lead La Mayiza in Sinaloa.