Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a founding leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday by a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, after pleading guilty to drug trafficking and organised crime offences.

The 76-year-old cartel boss, who was arrested in the United States in July 2024, is expected to receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole under the terms of his plea agreement with US prosecutors.

As part of the deal, he also agreed to forfeit approximately $15 billion in assets identified as proceeds of criminal activities.

Zambada was taken into US custody after arriving at an American airport under circumstances he claims were orchestrated by cartel associate Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of imprisoned drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Guzmán López later admitted to kidnapping Zambada as part of his own plea agreement with US authorities.

US officials have denied allegations that they participated in the operation that brought Zambada into the country, despite continued scrutiny from Mexican authorities over the incident.

Born in Mexico’s Sinaloa State in 1950, Zambada rose through the ranks of organised crime after initially working with the Guadalajara and Juárez cartels. He later joined forces with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán to build the Sinaloa cartel into one of the world’s most powerful drug trafficking organisations, overseeing extensive smuggling networks into the United States.

US prosecutors accused him of directing large-scale narcotics trafficking operations and ordering numerous killings, including the alleged murder of his own nephew, as well as the systematic assassination of rival cartel members and security personnel.

Unlike many high-profile drug traffickers, Zambada maintained a low public profile for decades, avoiding capture despite repeated attempts by Mexican authorities.

In a rare 2010 interview, he said imprisonment was his greatest fear and argued that his eventual arrest or death would not end drug trafficking in Mexico.

Following the imprisonment of El Chapo, internal divisions within the Sinaloa cartel intensified, sparking a violent struggle between Zambada’s faction and the sons of Guzmán. The conflict has reportedly claimed about 2,000 lives.

Monday’s sentencing is expected to mark the final chapter in the decades-long criminal career of one of Mexico’s most influential and elusive drug traffickers.