Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed this week that Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada will die in prison after finally pleading guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges.
“This guy, ‘El Mayo,’ was living like a king. Now he’s living like a criminal for the rest of his life,” Bondi said, standing shoulder to shoulder with law enforcement.
“Thanks to the relentless work of our prosecutors and federal agents, El Mayo will spend the rest of his life behind bars. He will die in a U.S. federal prison where he belongs,” she continued. “His guilty plea brings us one step closer to eliminating the cartels and the transnational organizations flooding our country with drugs, human traffickers, and homicides.”
It was more than a legal milestone; it was a message. Bondi’s words, stern and deliberate, carried the weight of the Trump administration’s warning to cartel leaders: be afraid — because any one of you could be next.
Bondi had come to Brooklyn straight from a two-hour Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump to deliver the news, a gesture meant to underscore the administration’s resolve.
Zambada’s guilty plea, prosecutors said, confirmed him as a leader of “one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world.” He made billions moving narcotics into the United States, his empire shielded by bribes to police and politicians alike.
The Department of Justice pointed to testimony at earlier trials — El Chapo’s among them — that laid bare how corruption at every rung of government enabled Zambada’s reach: local police escorting shipments, officials tipping off the cartel to raids, senior figures whispering about investigations.
“El Mayo’s crimes have been so prolific that in the past two decades, he’s been indicted in no fewer than 16 federal courts across this country,” Bondi said. “He escaped justice for decades. But under President Trump’s leadership, he has finally been brought to justice.”
Watch Bondi’s announcement below:
“El Chapo’s” Sinaloa Cartel Co-Founder, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, has pled guilty to operating a continuing criminal enterprise and to RICO charges.
“His guilty plea brings us one step closer to achieving our goal: the elimination of the drug cartels and the… pic.twitter.com/7AUHrKJgCa
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) August 25, 2025
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Author: Lord Staff
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