Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias “El Mayo,” was the leader of a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. Along with Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo,” El Mayo is one of the most storied drug traffickers in Mexican history.
Before being arrested by US authorities in July 2024, he was known primarily for maintaining a low profile and a focus on business over violence. In addition, he was one of the few old-guard bosses who had managed to evade justice throughout his four-decade criminal career. US prosecutors sentenced him to life in prison in July 2026.
What’s in this profile:
Recent News on El Mayo
July 2026 — US Prosecutors Sentence El Mayo to Life in Prison
US authorities sentenced El Mayo to life in prison without the possibility of parole and ordered him to pay $15 billion in forfeiture for his leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel. His sentencing comes seven years after his co-founder Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo”, was given the same sentence. El Mayo was first arrested in 2024 after alleging being kidnapped in Mexico and flown to the US-Mexico border.
What is El Mayo’s Story?
Originally a farmer from the western state of Sinaloa, El Mayo started working with the Juarez Cartel in the 1980s and 1990s. After the death of the head of the Juarez Cartel, Amado Carrillo Fuentes, alias “El Señor de los Cielos,” El Mayo created his own organization. With the slow demise of the Tijuana Cartel, El Mayo has sought to expand his routes through the northwestern states of Sonora and Baja California. He also controled much of the production and shipment of heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl from Mexico into the United States.
In the decade prior to his capture, El Mayo suffered the loss of several key members of his inner circle. Authorities arrested his brother, two sons, and a nephew. His sons Ismael Zambada Imperial, alias “El Mayito Gordo,” and Vicente Zambada Niebla, alias “El Vincentillo,” as well as his brother Jesús “El Rey” Zambada, were captured and extradited to the United States between 2010 and 2019. Another of his sons, Serafín Zambada Ortíz, was arrested in Arizona in 2013 and released in 2018. All of them came to collaborate in various measures with the US justice system, which guaranteed them reduced sentences and early releases. In fact, El Rey and Vicentillo served as witnesses in El Chapo’s trial in New York in 2019.
In February 2017, El Mayo survived an attack allegedly carried out by Dámaso “Licenciado” López Núñez, another Sinaloa Cartel leader. The ambush also targeted two of El Chapo’s sons, suggesting an internal struggle for power following the drug boss’s capture and extradition to the United States earlier that year.
However, Licenciado was arrested soon after in Mexico City in May 2017. Then Licenciado’s son, Damáso López Serrano, alias “Mini Lic,” turned himself in to US authorities in July. This left El Mayo at the top of the Sinaloa Cartel, alongside El Chapo’s sons, known as the “Chapitos.” Each faction has had its own collaborators and armed factions, which work together most of the time but have occasionally clashed violently.
On the afternoon of July 25, 2024, El Mayo was allegedly lured to a meeting organized by Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of El Chapo, where he was kidnapped and placed on a private plane that landed in New Mexico. Both Guzmán López and El Mayo were arrested by US authorities after Guzmán López reportedly arranged their handover.
The act was widely viewed as a betrayal by the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel and sparked an internal war with the faction allied with El Mayo. Since September 2024, the two factions have continued to engage in a bloody conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced entire communities.
In August 2025, Zambada pled guilty to continuing a criminal enterprise and racketeering conspiracy, acknowledging culpability in over 85 crimes, after prosecutors stated they would not seek the death penalty. Ahead of his sentencing in July 2026, US prosecutors alleged that El Mayo ordered the murder of his nephew, Eliseo Imperial Castro, alias “Cheyo Ántrax,” one of the last leaders of Los Ántrax, an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel. Cheyo Ántrax collected debts on the kingpin’s behalf without authorization and kept the money, according to a document filed ahead of El Mayo’s sentencing. Imperial Castro was shot dead in Sinaloa in May 2024.
In the time leading up to his sentencing, a US federal judge granted Zambada be sent to a federal prison hospital to be treated for age-related health issues. Zambada was sentenced to life in prison on July 20, 2026.
What Criminal Activities Was El Mayo Involved in?
Networks associated with El Mayo control much of the heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, and fentanyl production in Mexico, and are also involved in cocaine trafficking from South America.
El Mayo and his associates have also managed to set up various money laundering schemes that extend throughout the country, according to investigations by the US Treasury Department. These have involved several companies, some of which have allegedly received government contracts.
Where Did El Mayo Operate?
El Mayo is originally from Sinaloa, and allegedly operated for decades from the mountainous area known as the Golden Triangle linking the states of Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua. His family and associates have been deeply rooted in the communities of this region for years and have allegedly become providers of some basic services.
El Mayo’s associated armed factions, such as the Rusos and Anthrax, operate from the states of Sonora and Baja California, as well as Sinaloa, to guarantee access to border crossings.
Drug trafficking networks associated with El Mayo send emissaries to Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela to guarantee the flow of cocaine. They also have suppliers of precursor chemicals in Asia, which facilitate the production of synthetic drugs.
Finally, the clients of the drug trafficking networks associated with El Mayo are spread across every continent.
Who Were El Mayo’s Allies and Enemies?
El Mayo made and broke many alliances with other drug trafficking organizations. His partnership with the Chapitos has been cited as a major reason why the Sinaloa Cartel is the strongest in the hemisphere.
El Mayo also used his connections in the Mexican government to push his influence steadily north toward the US border and south toward the border with Guatemala, leaving a trail of imprisoned and dead colleagues in his wake.
What Lies Ahead for El Mayo?
El Mayo proved himself remarkably adept at evading arrest. His deep connections in government and the local population in Sinaloa helped him spend over 40 years in the drug trafficking business without ever seeing the inside of a jail cell.
However, that came to an end in July 2024, with his arrest on the US-Mexico border, followed by his 2025 guilty plea and 2026 sentencing to charges related to his leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Before his arrest, the US government had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to El Mayo.
Though El Mayo now faces life in US prison, his son Ismael Zambada Sicairos, alias “El Mayito Flaco,” who has not been arrested, has inherited his business while continuing to wage an active conflict with the Chapitos faction.
