Live: Sinaloa co-founder 'El Mayo' Zambada pleads guilty to charges

(NewsNation) —  The former head of the Sinaloa drug cartel pleaded guilty to federal charges when he appeared in court on Monday after previously maintaining his innocence.

Ismael Zambada, known as “El Mayo”, was arrested in Texas last month and federal prosecutors said in a court filing ahead of Monday’s hearing in a Brooklyn federal courtroom that they expected the 77-year-old to plead guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of continuing a criminal enterprise.

Federal prosecutors announced earlier this month that they would not seek the death penalty in the case. Zambada entered the guilty plea during the hearing before the federal judge.

"I recognize the great harm illegal drugs have done to the people in the United States and Mexico," Zambada said during his court appearance. "I apologize for all of it, and I take responsibility for my actions.”

Perez previously stated that Zambada was not considering a potential deal with the government and that he expected the case to proceed to trial. Asked if he felt Zambada could receive a fair trial, Perez said, “We’ll see.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi is expected to address the change of plea at a news conference on Monday afternoon. Zambada will be sentenced on Jan. 13, 2026, and is expected to face life in prison. He is expected to surrender $15 billion in assets to the U.S. government.

Zambada is accused of co-founding the Sinaloa Cartel alongside convicted drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Zambada was arrested last year alongside Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of his former partner, near El Paso, Texas. Together, the two men led the drug cartel, which was responsible for the trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine and other illicit drugs from Mexico into the United States.

Prosecutors said that under Zambada and Guzman, the Sinaloa cartel transitioned from a regional player to the largest drug trafficking criminal organization in the world.

Prosecutors say that Zambada oversaw a large, violent criminal organization that used an array of military-grade weapons, had a private security force and also had a corps of hitmen who carried out assassinations, kidnappings and torture.

Prosecutors also claim that just months before he was arrested in 2024, Zambada had ordered the murder of his nephew.

Guzmán was sentenced to life behind bars following his conviction in the same federal court in Brooklyn in 2019. His two sons, who ran a cartel faction, also face federal charges.