El Mayo Gets Life

Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael Zambada was sentenced to life after a U.S. kidnapping claim.

Sinaloa Cartel boss 'El Mayo' sentenced to life, ordered to pay $15B in drug trafficking profits

Good Riddance: Sinaloa Cartel Kingpin ‘El Mayo’ Will Die Behind Bars

Notorious drug cartel leader Ismael Zambada sentenced to life in US prison

Summary

A neutral summary of the key facts most outlets agree on, drawn from reporting across the political spectrum.

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the 76-year-old co-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, was sentenced to life in U.S. prison in Brooklyn federal court. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan also ordered Zambada to forfeit $15 billion in drug-trafficking proceeds. Zambada pleaded guilty last year to charges tied to trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine and other drugs over decades. He was arrested in 2024 after being flown to the United States in circumstances he described as a kidnapping.

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