On August 28, 2025, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum took an assertive step onto the international stage, announcing her intention to request that the United States share the $15 billion it expects to seize from convicted drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada with Mexico’s poorest citizens. This move follows a dramatic chapter in the decades-long battle against the Sinaloa cartel, one of the world’s most fearsome and far-reaching drug trafficking organizations.
Ismael Zambada, aged 77 and long considered an elusive figure in the world of organized crime, pleaded guilty on August 25, 2025, in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York. The charges against him were sweeping: racketeering conspiracy, running a continuing criminal enterprise, and the importation and distribution of massive quantities of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl into the United States. According to Reuters and other major outlets, Zambada’s guilty plea was a watershed moment in the ongoing war against drugs that has claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
"If the United States government were to recover resources, then we would be asking for them to be given to Mexico for the poorest people," Sheinbaum declared during her regular morning press conference, as reported by AFP. The president’s remarks signal a new chapter in U.S.-Mexico cooperation—and perhaps contention—over the proceeds of international criminal prosecution. The $15 billion in ill-gotten gains, which Zambada agreed to forfeit as part of his plea deal, represents one of the largest such forfeitures in U.S. criminal history. Sheinbaum’s call reflects a broader sentiment in Mexico that the costs of the drug war have been disproportionately borne by its most vulnerable communities.
Zambada’s fall from power has drawn inevitable comparisons to that of his long-time associate, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, who is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison in Colorado. Together, Zambada and Guzmán led the Sinaloa cartel, which U.S. authorities have branded the world’s largest and most dangerous drug trafficking organization. The cartel’s operations stretch across continents, but its most devastating impact has been felt in the relentless flow of narcotics—especially fentanyl—into American cities, fueling an overdose crisis that claims tens of thousands of lives each year.
The saga of Zambada’s arrest is itself the stuff of crime fiction. After more than two decades as a fugitive, he was taken into custody in July 2024 upon arriving at a Texas airport in a private plane. He was accompanied by one of Guzmán’s sons, a detail that underscores the tangled web of family ties and rivalries that define the cartel’s inner workings. According to BBC News, prosecutors described Zambada’s operation as a militarized enterprise, equipped with an arsenal of military-grade weapons, a private security force akin to an army, and a corps of "sicarios"—hitmen responsible for assassinations, kidnappings, and torture. In a chilling detail, prosecutors revealed that just months before his arrest, Zambada had ordered the murder of his own nephew, a stark reminder of the ruthless calculus that governs cartel life.
The Sinaloa cartel’s notoriety is not just a product of its scale, but also its brutality. U.S. prosecutors allege that the cartel, particularly factions led by Guzmán’s sons—the so-called "Chapitos"—have engaged in acts of violence so extreme that some victims were reportedly fed to tigers. Such stories have become part of the grim folklore surrounding the cartel, highlighting the challenge facing both U.S. and Mexican authorities as they seek to dismantle these criminal empires.
Despite Zambada’s conviction, speculation has swirled about the future of the Sinaloa cartel. Some observers have wondered whether the organization’s days are numbered, especially as its leadership is decimated by arrests and infighting. But Mexico’s Security Secretary, Omar Garcia Harfuch, was quick to tamp down such speculation on August 28, 2025. As reported by El Universal, Harfuch stated that while some cartel factions have been weakened, the organization as a whole remains active and dangerous. "While some of the cartel’s factions were diminished, the organization was far from finished," he said, echoing a sentiment shared by many security analysts who caution against premature declarations of victory.
The aftermath of Zambada’s arrest has also been marked by violent conflict within the cartel itself. According to La Jornada, factions loyal to Zambada have clashed with those aligned with the Chapitos, leading to a surge in kidnappings and assassinations. The cartel’s internal strife has spilled over into broader violence in Mexico, further destabilizing regions already reeling from years of drug-related bloodshed.
For the United States, the conviction of Zambada is a significant, if bittersweet, milestone. American authorities have long sought to bring the cartel’s leaders to justice, ramping up pressure on criminal networks that smuggle drugs across the border. Earlier this month, Mexico extradited several suspects to the U.S. as part of a major deal with the current administration, underscoring the ongoing cooperation between the two countries. Yet, as the fentanyl crisis continues to rage, many question whether these high-profile convictions are enough to stem the tide of narcotics flooding into American communities.
The question of what happens to the billions in cartel assets now looms large. President Sheinbaum’s demand that the U.S. share the forfeited $15 billion with Mexico’s poorest is both a moral and political statement. It reflects a desire to see justice done not just in the courtroom, but in the lives of those most harmed by the drug trade’s corrosive effects. Whether the U.S. will heed this call remains to be seen, but the debate itself highlights the complex interplay of law, diplomacy, and social justice at the heart of the drug war.
Meanwhile, the people of Mexico—and indeed, both sides of the border—wait to see if this latest chapter will bring meaningful change. As the Sinaloa cartel adapts to new realities and law enforcement agencies recalibrate their strategies, the fight against organized crime presses on. The conviction of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada is an undeniable blow to the cartel’s leadership, but as history has shown, the roots of such organizations run deep, and the struggle to uproot them is far from over.
With billions at stake and lives hanging in the balance, the story of El Mayo’s downfall is a stark reminder of the enduring complexities—and human costs—of the global drug war.
