Ismael Zambada Sicairos, alias “Mayito Flaco”

Ismael Zambada Sicairos, alias “Mayito Flaco” is one of the sons of Mexican drug trafficker Ismael Zambada García, alias “El Mayo.” He is regarded as one of the leading figures of the Mayiza, the faction of the Sinaloa Cartel that remained loyal to the Zambada family following the arrest of El Mayo in July 2024. He was indicted in the United States in 2014 on drug trafficking charges.

What Is Mayito Flaco’s Story?

Mayito Flaco is one of the estimated 16 children of Ismael Zambada García, alias “El Mayo.” He is believed to have been born in approximately 1982 in Anaheim, California, in the United States. 

Mayito Flaco was likely exposed to the inner workings of the Sinaloa Cartel as a child. His father’s eldest son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, alias “El Vicentillo,” testified in 2019 that he began accompanying his father to Sinaloa Cartel meetings as a teenager before gradually becoming involved in his father’s business. El Vicentillo was the first of El Mayo’s children to be arrested and extradited to the United States in March 2009. 

Four years later, another son, Serafín Zambada Ortiz, was arrested by US authorities, and a third son, Ismael Zambada Imperial, alias “Mayito Gordo,” was detained in Mexico in 2014. Their father El Mayo’s decades-long period as a fugitive ended in July 2024, when he was arrested in El Paso, Texas. 

These arrests left power in the hands of Mayito Flaco, who, unlike his predecessors, has so far managed to evade the authorities. 

What Criminal Markets Is Mayito Flaco Involved In?

Mayito Flaco is accused of moving large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, and other drugs, as well as the chemicals to manufacture methamphetamine, according to the 2014 indictment, which was unsealed in January 2015. His alleged trafficking network ran through Central and South America, and extended as far as Asia—a key exporter of precursor chemicals for drug production in Mexico. US authorities have also connected Mayito Flaco’s faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, the Mayiza, to fentanyl production and trafficking.

Where Does Mayito Flaco Operate?

Mayito Flaco’s base has historically been the southern part of Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa. The Mayiza uses a combination of territorial control and relationships with other Sinaloa Cartel factions to maintain influence over the drug production region known as the Golden Triangle, which is composed of municipalities stretching through the states of Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua. Other areas of influence include Zacatecas, Sonora, Baja California, and Colima, where the Mayiza has deployed armed wings.

The US Department of the Treasury has identified Baja California as an area partially dominated by the Mayiza, specifically in Tijuana and Mexicali. The Mayiza reportedly manages this strategic territory through a network of high-ranking cartel figures known as “jefes de plaza” (plaza bosses). Tijuana is said to be controlled by brothers Alfonso Arzate García, alias “Aquiles” and René Arzate García, alias “La Rana.”

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identifies the Rusos—led by Juan José Ponce Félix, known as “El Ruso”—as a La Mayiza cell that currently dominates the area surrounding Mexicali.

Who Are Mayito Flaco’s Allies and Enemies?

Mayito Flaco’s main rivals are the Chapitos’ current leaders, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar. Following El Mayo’s arrest in 2024, fighting between their two Sinaloa Cartel factions escalated into the most serious internal conflict in the group’s history, with both sides contesting control over Sinaloa’s capital, Culiacán, and key trafficking routes in northwestern Mexico.

The Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG) has historically been an adversary of the Mayiza and has allied with the Chapitos, offering money, weapons, and fighters in southern Sinaloa and border regions extending into Chihuahua and Durango where the Chapitos-Mayiza internal war continues.

Mayito Flaco has forged alliances with other factions and criminal organizations to bolster the Mayiza in their war against Los Chapitos. The US Department of the Treasury noted in September 2026 that, following the capture of El Mayo, the Mayiza, and the Chapitos turned to new alliances as they vied for territory and influence.

Mayito Flaco has formed alliances with other Sinaloa Cartel factions, most significantly the Cabreras, a family-based organization with longstanding influence in Durango. The criminal group deployed to Culiacán to defend Mayito Flaco at the war’s outbreak, according to local media reports. Local reporting in 2025 indicated that Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, alias “Chapo Isidro,” had reached an agreement with Mayito Flaco. His organization, the Guasave Cartel, and the Mayiza reportedly share an interest in limiting the Chapitos’ influence in the region. The durability and scope of the reported arrangement remain unclear.

Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, alias “Chapo Isidro,” is also among Mayito Flaco’s alliances, having come to an agreement with him in 2025 according to local media reports. Chapo Isidro’s organization, the Guasave Cartel, and the Mayiza reportedly share an interest in limiting the Chapitos’ influence in the region. The durability and scope of the reported arrangement remain unclear.

Mayito Flaco has also allied with armed wings including the Rugrats, the Rusos, Los Ántrax, Flechas MZ, the Sombreiza, and the Cazadores around several CJNG strongholds, according to media reports and US authorities. 

What Lies Ahead for Mayito Flaco?

Mayito Flaco’s low profile has likely helped him avoid the level of scrutiny faced by Chapitos leaders, some of whom have been arrested. There is also little indication that the conflict has severely disrupted the group’s criminal economies.

Although weakened by the war in Culiacan, Mayito Flaco is continuing to gain territory from the Chapitos. Still, the war has fueled growing social rejection of the Mayiza and eroded the social ties that the organization spent decades building, and Mayito Flaco represents a new generation of traffickers that is feared, rather than respected, in contrast to their fathers before them.