El Mayo

Ismael Mario Zambada García (born 31 January 1950), also known as “El Mayo”, is a Mexican former drug lord and co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, an international crime syndicate based in the state of Sinaloa. Before he assumed leadership of the entire cartel, he allegedly served as the logistical coordinator for its Zambada García faction, which has overseen the trafficking of cocaine and heroin into Chicago and other US cities by aircraft, narcosubs, container ships, go-fast boats, fishing vessels, buses, rail cars, tractor trailers, and automobiles.

Until his arrest in July 2024, he had never been arrested or incarcerated. He was arrested in El Paso, Texas, United States, and reported to be in US custody on 25 July 2024. He was arraigned in a Brooklyn based federal court on 13 September 2024. On 25 August 2025, during a court hearing in Brooklyn, he pled guilty to two of the 17 counts he was charged with, one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of running a continuing criminal enterprise. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on 20 July 2026.