January 1, Sinaloa Cartel Kingpin Faces U.S. Justice

Wyatt’s Take

• El Mayo, Sinaloa Cartel boss, pleads guilty in U.S. court
• Attorney General says he’ll die behind bars for drug crimes
• Trump administration sends strong warning to traffickers

America just put the squeeze on one of the world’s biggest drug lords. Pam Bondi said in Brooklyn that Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada will spend the rest of his life in a U.S. prison after pleading guilty to major drug trafficking charges.

“This guy, ‘El Mayo,’ was living like a king,” Bondi said of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, as cameras flashed around her. “Now he’s living like a criminal for the rest of his life.”

The Justice Department called Zambada’s cartel one of the most violent and powerful in the world, and Bondi made it clear that thanks to law enforcement, “El Mayo will spend the rest of his life behind bars. He will die in a U.S. federal prison where he belongs.”

“His guilty plea brings us one step closer to achieving our goal of the elimination of the drug cartels and the transnational criminal organizations throughout this world that are flooding our country with drugs and human traffickers and homicides.”

The attorney general came straight from the Oval Office to say the Trump administration is taking the fight to drug cartels. Stopping them remains a top White House priority, with the threat to American families at the center.

Zambada admitted he ran the cartel for decades, making billions importing drugs and paying off corrupt officials to stay in power. The DOJ said he “operated with impunity at the highest levels of the Mexican drug trafficking world while being assured of his continued success and safety from arrest through his payment of bribes to Mexican government officials and law enforcement officers.” “El Mayo” controlled those corrupt officials, who in turn protected his cartel members and the shipments of his drugs smuggled into America.

The DOJ’s report explains, “Numerous witnesses have testified, including at the trials of El Chapo and corrupt former Mexican Secretary of Public Security Genaro García Luna, that corruption at all levels was necessary to allow the Zambada Garcia’s criminal enterprise to function so effectively at such a large scale: from local police officers who escorted the drugs through Mexico, to corrupt officials who informed the Cartel of military actions, thwarted capture operations, and consulted with the Cartel about proceedings and investigations against it.”

Zambada has been indicted in at least 16 federal courts from Texas to New York, escaping justice until now. “But under President Trump’s leadership, he has finally been brought to justice,” Bondi said.

Family members of Americans killed by cartel violence thanked the White House for holding criminals accountable. “We are deeply grateful to President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and the entire Trump administration for their commitment to holding cartels accountable,” said Adriana Jones, whose family lost loved ones to cartel murders in 2019. “The Sinaloa Cartel and Juárez Cartel both represent a clear and present danger, and their actions have caused immense loss, pain, and suffering. Thanks to the efforts of this administration, our nation is safer.”

It’s clear those fueling the drug crisis are finally facing tough justice on American soil.

Wyatt Matters

Middle America deserves safer communities, free from the violence and heartbreak brought by drug traffickers. Justice for these crimes means peace of mind for working families across the heartland.

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