Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada García, co-founder of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, has been sentenced in a US federal court to life in prison and ordered to forfeit $15 billion in drug trafficking profits. The sentencing marks a major milestone in the US crackdown on one of the world's most powerful drug trafficking organisations, which for decades helped flood American cities with cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Zambada was captured in July 2024 after being flown to the United States under circumstances that sparked a diplomatic row, with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum accusing Washington of lying about US involvement in his abduction and violating Mexican sovereignty. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to running a continuing criminal enterprise, avoiding a trial that had been expected to expose extensive details of cartel operations and corruption.