Former Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada apologized for the damage caused by the organization while pleading guilty before a U.S. court on Monday.
"I acknowledge the great damage that drugs have caused in the U.S., Mexico and elsewhere," he said, according to Noticias Telemundo.
"I take all responsibility and ask for the forgiveness of all those affected by my actions," he added.
Zambada also recounted his beginnings in drug-trafficking, saying he started in 1989 at the age of 19 "when I planted marijuana for the first time." "I had at my service a great number of armed men (...) in the end they were all under my control."
In another passage of the hearing, El Mayo estimated he trafficked 1.5 million kilos of cocaine during his career, "most of which went to the U.S."
"The organization I led promoted corruption in my home country by paying police, military commanders and politicians that allowed us to operate freely. It goes back to the very beginning when I was a young man starting out and it continued for all those years," he added.
Zambada changed his plea, considering he said he wasn't guilty in September last year. The change comes just weeks after U.S. authorities decided they will not seek the death penalty in Zambada's case, a move that appears to have catalyzed the agreement. In addition to Zambada himself, other aging cartel figures, like Rafael Caro Quintero, were similarly spared, suggesting a broader prosecutorial strategy of encouraging plea deals. His sentencing will take place on January 13 next year.
His arrest in July 2024 in Texas resulted from a deceptive setup involving El Chapo's son, Joaquín Guzmán López, who invited Zambada onto a private plane to view property in Mexico, which then led to his detention upon arrival in the U.S.. Zambada and Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán built the Sinaloa Cartel into the largest drug trafficking organization in the world, channeling vast quantities of cocaine, heroin, meth, and fentanyl into the U.S.
His arrest resulted in a massive split within the cartel he helped create, with two factions emerging to fight a bloody civil war that still has Sinaloa gripped in a state of perpetual violence. The faction, loyal to Zambada, "La Mayiza," has spent the last year and a half fighting "Los Chapitos," a group led by El Chapo's sons.
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