El Mayo Zambada Sentencing Set for April 13 — Prosecution Files Final Rebuttal

US federal prosecutors filed their sentencing rebuttal memo in the case of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada García ahead of the April 13, 2026 sentencing hearing in Brooklyn federal court. El Mayo, 77, pleaded guilty to leading a continuing criminal enterprise (RICO) and faces mandatory life imprisonment plus a $15 billion forfeiture judgment. The sentencing was originally scheduled for January 13 but was delayed at defense request. The proceeding marks the formal legal conclusion of one of the most consequential cartel captures in history — El Mayo's arrest on July 25, 2024 fractured the Sinaloa Cartel and triggered the ongoing civil war between Los Chapitos and Los Mayos that has devastated Sinaloa and displaced tens of thousands. El Mayo's lawyers are expected to argue circumstances of his alleged kidnapping by Joaquín Guzmán López in mitigation.