By: BROOKLYN — For much than 4 decades, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada ruled from the shadows. While different apical Mexican supplier traffickers were killed aliases extradited to the United States, Zambada remained comfortably ensconced atop his empire, exporting cocaine, meth, heroin and fentanyl about the globe from his stronghold successful the authorities of Sinaloa.
Long aft the downfall of his Sinaloa cartel partner, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, Zambada continued to run pinch impunity, ever a measurement up of the rule — until eventually it caught up to him too.
Now the mobility is whether he’ll return others down pinch him.
Before a national judge successful a Brooklyn courtroom connected Monday, Zambada, 75, pleaded blameworthy to an array of charges for starring a “continuing criminal enterprise” from the precocious 1980s until his apprehension past year. He admitted to money laundering, racketeering and smuggling monolithic quantities of drugs.
In a courtroom packed pinch journalists and U.S. rule enforcement officials who spent years hunting him, Zambada appeared dressed successful blue-and-orange jailhouse scrubs, pinch metallic hairsbreadth slicked backmost and a neatly trimmed beard.
Asked by U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan whether he understood the accusation of his blameworthy plea — which carries a mandatory life condemnation pinch nary chance for parole — Zambada addressed the court, reference prepared remarks successful Spanish.
He said that he discontinue schoolhouse aft the sixth people and sewage his commencement trading marijuana astatine property 19 successful Sinaloa. He graduated to cocaine, trafficking an estimated 1.5 cardinal kilos complete the years, “most of which went to the U.S.”
The statement I led promoted corruption successful my location state by paying police, subject commanders and politicians that would let america to run freely.
— Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada
He described himself arsenic the creator of the Sinaloa cartel, which progressive a web of Colombian cocaine traffickers, logistics coordinators, wholesale distributors crossed the U.S., and “a ample number of equipped men successful complaint of security” successful Mexico. He admitted ordering gunmen to termination rivals and acknowledged that “many guiltless group besides died.”
But Zambada’s remark that hung successful the aerial successful the courtroom had to do pinch the Mexican officials he paid disconnected complete the decades.
“The statement I led promoted corruption successful my location state by paying police, subject commanders and politicians that would let america to run freely,” he said. “It goes backmost to the very opening erstwhile I was a young man starting out, and it continued for each those years.”
Zambada’s stunning downfall began past July erstwhile he arrived connected a backstage pitchy astatine a mini airdrome adjacent El Paso. In the contiguous aftermath, rumors swirled that Zambada whitethorn person orchestrated his surrender successful bid to acquisition aesculapian curen aliases reunite pinch his relative and respective sons who are believed to beryllium surviving nether witnesser protection aft pleading blameworthy and cooperating pinch U.S. authorities to resoluteness their ain criminal cases.
Zambada, however, has vehemently denied that his presence successful the U.S. was prearranged. A fewer weeks aft he was taken into custody, he alleged he was group up and kidnapped by 1 of El Chapo’s sons, Joaquín Guzmán López, a leader of the cartel faction known arsenic Los Chapitos.
Zambada claimed successful a missive released by his lawyer that he was lured to what he thought would beryllium a gathering betwixt Sinaloa’s politician and different salient politician, only to beryllium ambushed, zip-tied, forced onto the level by Guzmán López and delivered to U.S. authorities.
Guzmán López, 39, is facing his ain national lawsuit successful Chicago, wherever he has pleaded not blameworthy to supplier and conspiracy charges. His younger brother, Ovidio Guzmán, precocious pleaded blameworthy to akin charges, pinch court filings revealing that he has agreed to cooperate pinch U.S. investigators.
A mugshot of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, released by U.S. authorities during the proceedings of his longtime partner successful the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
(U.S. Department of Justice)
Zambada’s lawyer, Frank Perez, denied Monday that his customer is cooperating.
“The statement that he reached pinch the U.S. authorities is simply a matter of nationalist record,” Perez said successful a statement, adding, “I could authorities categorically that location is nary woody nether which he is cooperating pinch the United States Government aliases immoderate different government.”
But contempt the denial, Zambada’s family’s history, mixed pinch the truth that he has agreed to plead blameworthy alternatively than return his lawsuit to trial, is fueling speculation that he could beryllium prepared to spill secrets about high-level corruption.
Paul Craine, the apical charismatic successful Mexico for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration from 2012 to 2017, said of Zambada: “He knows much than anybody.”
Craine, who retired from the DEA and now runs a backstage information firm, said it’s improbable that national prosecutors would ever work together to a woody that gives the kingpin thing little than life successful prison.
Zambada was already spared the decease penalty, but the authorities could dangle different benefits, he said, specified arsenic relocating family members to the United States for their information aliases allowing him to service his clip location cushier than the Colorado “supermax” situation wherever El Chapo and others deemed utmost information risks are held successful adjacent full isolation.
Zambada, Craine said, has knowledge about “40 years of the apical activity of the subject and the authorities [in Mexico] that he was straight paying and had co-opted.”
“He’s the godfather,” Craine said. “He’s the consistency crossed everything.”
Zambada’s lawsuit is playing retired during a delicate infinitesimal successful U.S.-Mexico relations, pinch President Trump utilizing tariffs arsenic a cudgel to unit action against the Sinaloa cartel and others responsible for shipping fentanyl and different narcotics northbound crossed the Rio Grande. Trump designated Zambada’s group and others arsenic violent organizations earlier this year, and has floated the anticipation of the U.S. subject taking action connected the Mexican broadside of the border.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to appease Trump by handing complete dozens of reputed high-ranking cartel figures for prosecution by U.S. authorities, but Craine said those offerings whitethorn not beryllium enough.
“There’s much worth now successful being capable to target a high-level corrupt criminal governmental fig than location is successful the biggest supplier trafficker successful Mexico,” he said.
Other erstwhile national rule enforcement officials echoed that assessment. Adam Braverman, a erstwhile U.S. lawyer successful San Diego who oversaw the indictments of Zambada and respective of his sons, called Monday’s blameworthy plea “a monumental time for the Department of Justice.”
Braverman, who now useful successful backstage practice, said if Zambada were to cooperate, simply giving up different cartel figures would not beryllium capable to make it worthy the bargain.
“When you’re astatine the apical of the chain, there’s cipher other to cooperate against,” he said. “You’re talking about generals, governors — perchance presidents of Mexico.”
Speaking astatine a news convention Monday aft Zambada’s hearing, U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi called Zambada “one of the about prolific and powerful supplier traffickers successful this world.”
“El Mayo operated pinch impunity astatine the highest levels of the Mexican supplier trafficking world, by paying bribes to authorities officials, by bribing rule enforcement officers,” she said. “He controlled corrupt officials and officers who protected his workers and his supplier shipments that traveled from Mexico into our country.”
Terry Cole, the caput of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said aft Bondi and hammered location the value of Zambada’s admittance of guilt.
“This is conscionable not different plea,” Cole said. “It’s a illness of a story that leaders of cartels are beyond the scope of American justice.”
Cole past hinted that different footwear mightiness beryllium dropping successful the adjacent future. He referenced “a ample rate seizure” associated pinch Zambada that would beryllium announced soon.
“Our activity pinch the Mexican authorities is not done,” he said, adding: “There are proceedings happening arsenic we speak.
Joaquín Guzmán Lopez, left, a boy of the Sinaloa cartel leader known arsenic “El Chapo,” and longtime cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada successful partially redacted photos released by the Mexican authorities pursuing their arrests successful 2024 successful El Paso.
(Government of Mexico)
Past tribunal proceedings person offered tantalizing glimpses of the type of ungraded Zambada could crockery connected Mexico’s about salient politicians. During the proceedings of El Chapo, court filings revealed that Zambada’s brother, Jesús “El Rey” Zambada, alleged to U.S. authorities he had bribed “an individual associated pinch the grounded statesmanlike campaign” of Andrés Manuel López Obrador successful 2006. López Obrador took agency successful 2018 aft winning that year’s election.
A akin allegation — which López Obrador has vehemently denied, citing a deficiency of grounds — surfaced again successful 2023 erstwhile Zambada’s relative was called to attest against a erstwhile apical Mexican information charismatic who was convicted of secretly moving connected behalf of the Sinaloa cartel.
Asked connected cross-examination about a $7-million payment that he allegedly gave to an lawyer successful Mexico, El Rey replied: “I do retrieve paying him immoderate money, that according to him was for the campaign.”
Testimony about the alleged 2006 payment to López Obrador’s run was constricted by judicial orders successful some trials, and neither lawsuit offered a smoking weapon to beryllium Zambada had paid disconnected the erstwhile president, who is from the aforesaid ruling Morena governmental statement arsenic Sheinbaum.
But the events surrounding Mayo’s alleged kidnapping by El Chapo’s boy person only added to speculation that the ex-president — who coined the motto “hugs not bullets” to tout his hands-off attack to combating organized crime — and his statement whitethorn person thing to hide.
Zambada claimed successful his missive past twelvemonth that he was invited to a gathering adjacent Sinaloa’s capital, Culiacán, wherever he expected to thief mediate a conflict betwixt the city’s erstwhile mayor, Héctor Melesio Cuén, and his governmental rival, Sinaloa’s existent governor, Rubén Rocha Moya.
Melesio Cuén turned up changeable to decease connected the time of Zambada’s arrest. Rocha Moya, a Morena statement member, has denied immoderate knowledge of the kidnapping plot, pointing to formation records that show he took a family travel to Los Angeles arsenic the events were playing out.
Mexican national authorities person cited respective suspicious irregularities successful the investigation into Melesio Cuén’s sidesplitting by Sinaloan authorities authorities, including the abrupt cremation of his body.
With tensions already moving high, Guillermo Valdes Castellanos, a erstwhile caput of the nationalist intelligence agency that is Mexico’s balanced of the CIA, said Zambada’s plea intends immoderate of Mexico’s governmental elites must now beryllium sweating bullets.
“[The Americans] are going to ore connected receiving accusation about each of the politicians who protected [El Mayo], who helped him from the army, the police, etc.,” he said. “The truth that he whitethorn person much coagulated accusation to impeach the Mexican politicians and authorities progressive is what’s making group very tense here.”
Zambada, for his part, acknowledged the harm he created by creating and starring the Sinaloa cartel successful his remarks Monday. In summation to the life condemnation his blameworthy plea will bring, he was ordered by the judge to forfeit $15 cardinal successful illicit cash.
Zambada said he was sorry for “the quality toll” of the unit he caused.
“I return work for each of it,” he said. “I apologize to everyone affected by my actions.”
Since Zambada’s apprehension past year, fighting betwixt a cartel faction led by 1 of his sons, known arsenic Mayito Flaco, and Los Chapitos has turned Sinaloa into 1 of Mexico’s about convulsive states. After the proceeding concluded successful Brooklyn, his lawyer issued a plea for peace.
“My customer is besides mindful of the effect of this lawsuit connected his location authorities of Sinaloa,” Perez said. “He calls upon the group of Sinaloa to stay calm, to workout restraint, and to debar violence. Nothing is gained by bloodshed; it only deepens wounds and prolongs suffering. He urges his organization to look alternatively toward bid and stableness for the early of the state.”
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