Historic victory

It was D-Day for US agencies charged with combating cross-border criminal organizations. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and DEA Director Terrance Cole led the large group of high-ranking officials and prosecutors from California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas, who publicly celebrated the Sinaloa Cartel's biggest disgrace: the guilty plea of ​​Mayo Zambada.

On the front lines of this war—which has spanned three decades—the prosecutors were the most vocal. Justin R. Simmons of the Western District of Texas illustrated the toll suffered by residents of the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez binational corridor due to the decades-long cartel conflict. “(There were) multiple residents—including at least one U.S. citizen—kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by members of the Sinaloa Cartel.”

U.S. authorities celebrated the fact that Mayo Zambada and Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán—both founders of the Sinaloa Cartel—and Rafael Caro Quintero are in U.S. federal prisons, with no chance of release.

Jason A. Reding Quiñones of the Southern District of Florida was exultant, having brought justice to the victims of the Sinaloa cartel, with Mayo's statement before Judge Brian Cogan. "His reign of violence and terror has come to an end. Never again will he lead a cartel that fueled addiction, spread violence, and destroyed families and communities on both sides of our border."

“His guilty plea demonstrates that no cartel boss is beyond the reach of justice. By arresting him, we are protecting American families and cutting off a supply chain for poison. The DEA and our partners will not rest until all cartel networks are dismantled,” said DEA Director Cole.

Pam Bondi called the Sinaloan man a “terrorist who committed horrific crimes against the American people… Today marks a crucial victory in President Trump’s ongoing fight to fully eliminate foreign terrorist organizations and protect American citizens from deadly drugs and violence.”

FBI Director Kash Patel expanded on the outlook: “Our work does not end here. We will continue to relentlessly leverage every resource at our disposal in our efforts to thwart the Sinaloa Cartel and put an end to its drug trafficking operations and the carnage that accompanies them.”

“After years of hard work, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New York, within Immigration and Customs Enforcement, obtained a superseding indictment against Ismael Zambada last year for fentanyl trafficking,” said Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd M. Lyons. “Now, one of the world’s most prolific and dangerous drug traffickers will face justice for the lives he has taken and the illicit profits he has obtained. This is more than a victory for HSI; it’s a victory for the American people.”

Zambada García is being tried in the Eastern District of New York, where he faces a joint indictment from the Brooklyn and Miami prosecutors' offices. With the plea agreement, he agreed to the transfer of a previous indictment filed in the Western District of Texas, and the remaining charges against him will be dismissed at sentencing.

El Mayo became a prime target for U.S. authorities after El Chapo's capture in 2016. He was already the top leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, and under his aegis, he operated "with impunity at the highest levels of Mexican drug trafficking, ensuring his continued success and safety from arrest by paying bribes to Mexican government officials and law enforcement agents. He controlled these corrupt officials and agents who protected his workers and drug shipments as they were transported through Mexico and into the United States."