US Sentences Sinaloa Cartel Co‑Founder 'El Mayo' Zambada to Life, Sparks Mexico‑US Tension

A U.S. federal court sentenced Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, co‑founder of the Sinaloa drug cartel, to life imprisonment and ordered the forfeiture of up to $15 billion in assets tied to the cartel’s multi‑decade drug operations. The forfeiture claim is among the largest in U.S. criminal history. Zambada, a longtime rival of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, was captured in 2022 and brought to the United States.

Mexico’s government has renewed demands for clarification of any U.S. involvement in the arrest, citing claims that the FBI aided the capture on Mexican soil. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration previously requested a full report, and the succeeding Sheinbaum administration has repeated the request after the sentencing. The controversy intensified after the FBI donated the aircraft used to transport Zambada to a museum, which Mexican officials view as evidence of U.S. participation.

The sentencing has not eased the violent conflict in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, where rival cartel factions linked to Zambada have killed more than 3,000 people and displaced thousands. Despite a heightened military presence, fighting remains concentrated in rural areas, underscoring the ongoing security challenges tied to the cartel’s fragmentation.