‘El Mayo’ Zambada Expresses Regret and Accepts Life Sentence in Courtroom Letter

NEW YORK, NY — Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, expressed deep personal remorse and fully accepted his life imprisonment sentence in a statement read before U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan on the day of his sentencing.

In the written statement obtained by Milenio, the notorious drug kingpin acknowledged the devastating impact of his decades-long criminal career, admitting that his actions caused irreparable harm without justification. Facing permanent imprisonment, Zambada stated that he accepts his punishment with full respect for the law and judicial institutions, seeking no special privileges or preferential treatment.

“I assume full responsibility for my actions,” Zambada wrote. “My responsibility does not end with a sentence, but with recognizing the damage and accepting the consequences for life.”

Addressing younger generations directly, the aging cartel leader urged youth to stay away from organized crime, attempting to dismantle the romanticized narrative often associated with drug trafficking. He cautioned that lives built on violence and crime are founded on deception, emphasizing that his own downfall serves as undeniable proof that the cartel lifestyle inevitably ends in destruction, imprisonment, or death.

Zambada also acknowledged Mexico’s legitimate interest in holding individuals like him accountable, noting that he would respectfully comply without conditions if Mexican authorities ever determined that he should serve his permanent sentence in his home country.

The solemn statement marks the conclusion of a landmark judicial process against one of the world’s most elusive drug lords, who spent over five decades evading law enforcement before his capture. With his sentencing finalized, U.S. federal authorities bring an end to the legal chapter of one of the chief architects of international narcotics trafficking.

Source: Milenio

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