Co-Founder of Sinaloa Cartel Charged in Superseding Indictment with Conspiracy to Manufacture and Distribute Fentanyl


Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia Allegedly Continues to Lead the Sinaloa Cartel From Hiding
A fifth superseding indictment was filed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Ismael Zambada Garcia, also known as “El Mayo,” with conspiring to manufacture and distribute a substance, containing N-phenyl-N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidinyl] propanamide (“fentanyl”), a Schedule II controlled substance intending and knowing that such substances would be unlawfully imported into the United States.  Zambada was previously charged in multiple superseding indictments with running a continuing criminal enterprise, as well as murder conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl manufacture and distribution conspiracy, as well as other drug-related crimes, through his continuing leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world.  The fifth superseding indictment extends the end-dates of the continuing criminal enterprise and several conspiracies from May 2014 to January 2024. Zambada Garcia remains at large.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Anne Milgram, Administrator, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Ivan J. Arvelo, Acting Assistant Director of Domestic Operations, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); David Sundberg, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington Field Office (FBI); Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD); and Steven G. James, Superintendent, New York State Police (NYSP), announced the fifth superseding indictment.
“As alleged, Zambada Garcia is charged with numerous drug offenses, now including the manufacture and distribution of fentanyl, a deadly drug that was largely unheard of when he founded the Sinaloa Cartel more than three decades ago and today is responsible for immeasurable harm,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “While Zambada Garcia continues to be a principal leader of the criminal enterprise responsible for importing enormous quantities of narcotics into the United States, this fifth superseding indictment demonstrates our firm resolve to bring him to justice, just as we did with his former co-conspirator El Chapo, and just as we will continue to do to all those who traffic drugs and seek to profit from the devastation inflicted on our communities.”
Mr. Peace also expressed his thanks to the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section for its assistance on the case.
“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat Americans have ever faced, and the Sinaloa Cartel continues to be the largest trafficker of fentanyl into the United States,” stated DEA Administrator Milgram.  “With fentanyl the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45, we must continue to hold Zambada Garcia and other cartel leaders, members, and associates accountable for the people they have killed.” 
“As the co-founder and current leader of the largest, most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world, Ismael Zambada Garcia is accused of supplying fentanyl to the United States at a time when the lethal narcotic has claimed lives at a devastating rate. For decades, the ruthlessly violent Sinaloa Cartel has continued its deadly scourge with the pervasive trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and other synthetic drugs into the U.S,” stated HSI Acting Assistant Director Arvelo.  “HSI New York and our law enforcement partners will not stop until we bring Zambada Garcia to justice on behalf of his countless victims.”
“As alleged, Zambada Garcia has, for decades, overseen the trafficking of tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the U.S. along with scores of related violence,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sundberg. “This superseding indictment is yet another example of our commitment to bringing cartel leaders to justice. We vow to continue to work with our domestic and foreign partners to dismantle violent transnational criminal organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel.”
“After the arrest and successful conviction of Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman Loera, NYPD investigators remained fully dedicated to our law enforcement partnership focused on bringing the Sinaloa Cartel’s remaining leadership to justice,” stated NYPD Commissioner Caban.  “This latest charge against Mr. Zambada Garcia further demonstrates our commitment to keeping the illicit products of his massive, violent criminal enterprise from entering our country and plaguing our cities’ streets.”
“We simply will not tolerate this type of illegal drug trafficking activity in our country and New York State. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and all our law enforcement partners for their tenacious work on this case. It is because of their ongoing collaboration and steadfast commitment that we are one step closer to shutting down this dangerous enterprise and placing Mr. Garcia behind bars,” stated NYSP Superintendent James.
As alleged, Zambada Garcia was a co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel with his former co-defendant Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera.  Guzman Loera was convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn in February 2019 and sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.  Zambada Garcia has continued to evade capture, and, as alleged, continues to run the Sinaloa Cartel from Mexico.  According to the superseding indictment, from 1989 to 2024, Zambada Garcia led a continuing criminal enterprise responsible for the importation and distribution of massive quantities of narcotics and which generated billions of dollars in profits.  To ensure the success of the cartel, Zambada Garcia employed individuals to obtain transportation routes and warehouses to import and store narcotics, and “sicarios,” or hit men, to carry out kidnappings and murders in Mexico to retaliate against rivals who threatened the cartel.  The millions of dollars generated from the drug sales were then transported back to Mexico.  Guzman Loera’s name has been removed from the fifth superseding indictment in light of his 2018 trial conviction.
Under the statute, the amount of fentanyl involved in the conspiracy attributable to the defendant as a result of his own conduct, and the conduct of others reasonably foreseeable to him, was at least 400 grams or more, but a vastly larger quantity would be proven at trial.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 
The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Zambada Garcia.  If you have information, please contact the DEA at +1-619-540-6912, which can accept messages from social messaging applications, or via email at TIPS@usdoj.gov.  If you are located outside of the United States, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Francisco J. Navarro, Robert M. Pollack, and Lauren A. Bowman are in charge of the prosecution.
This superseding indictment is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
 
The Defendant:
ISMAEL ZAMBADA GARCIA (also known as “El Mayo”)
Age:  76
Mexico
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 9-CR-466 (BMC)
Contact
John Marzulli
Danielle Blustein Hass
U.S. Attorney's Office
(718) 254-6323
Updated February 15, 2024

Among the accusations filed in the Eastern District Court of New York, it is noted that the alliances that El Mayo had with Colombian drug trafficking groups, such as the Norte del Valle Cartel and with the drug trafficker Luis Agustín Caicedo Velandia, alias “Don Lucho”, which operated in the Llanos Orientales region, as well as the organization of the Cifuentes Villa brothers and other organized crime groups in South America.

Don Lucho was assassinated in Bogotá along with another man on July 16, 2021.

https://insightcrime.org/colombia-o...gustin-caicedo-velandia-alias-don-lucho/

This is interesting.

15 milions? El Mayo can easly give you ten times the same amount in cash.

Be finally pissed off the wrong politician. Someone else took his place.
Good point Furio! You had me fucking laughing.

Also you won't see Zambada with Sean Penn LOL.

Ismael Zambada García, alias ‘El Mayo’
by InSight Crime
5 May 2021

Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias "El Mayo," has evaded authorities for 40 years.
Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias “El Mayo,” is the leader of a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. Along with his now captured and convicted partner, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo,” El Mayo is one of the most storied drug traffickers in Mexican history.

He is known primarily for maintaining a low profile and a focus on business over violence. In addition, he is one of the few old-guard bosses who has managed to evade justice throughout his criminal career.

History
Originally a farmer from the western state of Sinaloa, El Mayo started working with the Juarez Cartel in the 1980s and 1990s. After the death of the head of the Juarez Cartel, Amado Carrillo Fuentes, alias “El Señor de los Cielos,” El Mayo created his own organization. With the slow demise of the Tijuana Cartel, El Mayo has sought to expand his routes through the northwestern states of Sonora and Baja California. He also controls much of the heroin production and shipment from Mexico into the United States.

In recent years, El Mayo has suffered the loss of several key members of his inner circle. Authorities have arrested his brother, two sons, and a nephew. His sons Ismael Zambada Imperial, alias “El Mayito Gordo,” and Vicente Zambada Niebla, alias “El Vincentillo,” as well as his brother Jesús “El Rey” Zambada, were captured and extradited to the United States between 2010 and 2019. Another of his sons, Serafín Zambada Ortíz, was arrested in Arizona in 2013 and released in 2018. All of them came to collaborate in various measures with the US justice system, which guaranteed them reduced sentences and early releases. In fact, El Rey and Vicentillo served as witnesses in El Chapo’s trial in New York in 2019.

Some analysts surmised that El Mayo might be easing into the shadows, or even retiring, after he appeared on the front cover of the Mexican investigative news magazine Proceso in 2010. However, El Mayo survived a February 2017 attack allegedly carried out by Dámaso “Licenciado” López Núñez, another Sinaloa Cartel leader. The ambush also targeted two of El Chapo’s sons, suggesting an internal struggle for power following the drug boss’s capture and extradition to the United States earlier that year.

However, Licenciado was arrested soon after in Mexico City in May 2017. Then Licenciado’s son, Damáso López Serrano, alias “Mini Lic,” turned himself in to US authorities in July. This left El Mayo at the top of the Sinaloa Cartel, alongside El Chapo’s sons, known as the “Chapitos.” Each faction has its own collaborators and armed factions, which work together most of the time but have occasionally clashed violently.

Criminal Activities
Networks associated with El Mayo control much of the heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, and fentanyl production in Mexico, and are also involved in cocaine trafficking from South America.

El Mayo and his associates have also managed to set up various money laundering schemes that extend throughout the country, according to investigations by the US Treasury Department. These have involved several companies, some of which have allegedly received government contracts.

Geography
El Mayo is originally from Sinaloa, and allegedly operates from the mountainous area known as the Golden Triangle linking the states of Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua. His family and associates have been deeply rooted in the communities of this region for years and have allegedly become providers of some basic services.

El Mayo’s associated armed factions, such as the Rusos and Anthrax, operate from the states of Sonora and Baja California, as well as Sinaloa, to guarantee access to border crossings.

Drug trafficking networks associated with El Mayo send emissaries to Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela to guarantee the flow of cocaine. They also have suppliers of precursor chemicals in Asia, which facilitate the production of synthetic drugs.

Finally, the clients of the drug trafficking networks associated with El Mayo are spread across every continent.

Allies and Enemies
El Mayo has made and broken many alliances with other drug trafficking organizations. His partnership with the Chapitos has been cited as a major reason why the Sinaloa Cartel is the strongest in the hemisphere.

El Mayo has also used his connections in the Mexican government to push his influence steadily north toward the US border and south toward the border with Guatemala, leaving a trail of imprisoned and dead colleagues in his wake.

Prospects
El Mayo has proven himself remarkably adept at evading arrest. His deep connections in government and the local population in Sinaloa have helped him spend over 40 years in the drug trafficking business without ever seeing the inside of a jail cell.

In 2004, the US government offered a $5 million reward for any information leading to the capture of El Mayo. In 2021, US authorities raised this figure to $15 million. But to date, he has evaded arrest.

Even before El Chapo’s extradition in 2017, El Mayo was a major figure within the Sinaloa Cartel, and perhaps even of equal stature with his former boss on the operational side. With El Chapo out of the picture and internal power struggles roiling the organization, El Mayo will continue to play an important role in the cartel’s future, as long as his health permits.

It is presumed that his son Ismael Zambada Sicairos, alias “El Mayito Flaco,” who has not been arrested, could be his heir.

By 2020, Sinaloa and CJNG have established European operations at least in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Serbia, Albania, Romania, Slovakia as well as Morocco and Turkey.

Zambada Garcia remains at large. Charged but not arrested. He also problem with Los Chapitos the gruop headed by El Chapo sons.

Where and how do they operate in the UK?

How long has he been officially on the run? 1998?

When i saw "Nailed" i thought he was arrested lol

Anyway i don't think they will ever catch him, that guy is a ghost. In Mexico where they usually last a few years, he is in the game since forever.

According to the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Addiction's 2016 report, larger Mexican and Colombian criminal groups in Europe have adopted the franchise model - allowing smaller, local partners to use the group's "brand name" and providing them with drugs, contacts, and transportation - in order to navigate the criminal landscape in Europe.

"This is the new commercial model in Europe and we think that the Mexican and Colombian groups are adapting to it, seeking out established collaborators in Europe," Europol Director Rob Wainwright said in spring 2016.

In an article it write that Zambada sometimes slept in a tent in the middle of nowhere to avoid US search drones.

Speaking of ghosts El Azul could be also still alive one of the founders of Sinaloa Cartel.

Originally a member of the Federal Directorate of Security (DFS), he founded the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1970s along with other major drug traffickers in Mexico. After its disintegration in 1980, he led the Juárez Cartel , allying it with the Sinaloa Cartel.
His death is presumed to have occurred in a Mexico City hospital due to cardiac arrest, but authorities have not yet been able to confirm or deny this theory.

So as of today who potentially would have control of Tijuana?

My loyalty would have to sit with Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo...ater watching Narcos.....Rafa should of listented....Miguel Felix knew also they fucked up....but Don Neto knew from beginning how bad they fucked up.

I believe he was placed in 1998 on the wanted list but El Mayo has evaded authorities for more than 40 years, so that would put him in the same league as people like Bernardo Provenzano and Dawood Ibrahim.

I think its pretty much known that El Azul is actually dead, but you never know with these guys. A lot of speculations were about death of Heriberto 'Z-3' Lazcano, some people still believe he is alive.

There were rumors in 2014, no confirmation though so officially he's missing, Juan Jose Esparragoza Monzon, the son of “El Azul,” has escaped from prison in 2017.