Mexican drug lord Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, who on Monday, August 25, 2025 pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking, money laundering and use of weapons in a New York court, called for an end to the violence in Sinaloa.
“My client appeals to the people of Sinaloa to remain calm, act with restraint and avoid violence,” said Zambada’s lawyer, Frank Perez, in a statement released at the conclusion of the hearing where the Sinaloa Cartel co-founder accepted his guilt.
El Mayo’ petitions his son and Los Chapitos
Following the surrender of ‘El Mayo’ to US authorities in July 2024, a blood-and-fire war was unleashed in his home state of Sinaloa.
The clashes are between the ‘Mayitos’ faction – led by his son Ismael Zambada Sicairos, known as ‘Mayito’ Flaco – and the ‘Chapitos’ faction – led by Iván Archivaldo Guzmán and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán, offspring of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán.
El Mayo’, in the words of his lawyer, considers that “his community” must “look towards peace and stability for the future of the state” of Sinaloa.
“Bloodshed serves no purpose, it only deepens the wounds and prolongs the suffering,” according to Zambada.
The Sinaloa Cartel mastermind was arrested in July last year after landing at Santa Teresa airport (New Mexico, USA).
He did so in a small plane with Joaquín Guzmán López, one of ‘El Chapo’s’ sons, who, according to ‘El Mayo’, set him up to take him to the United States and hand him over to the authorities.
Zambada, who was El Chapo’s right-hand man since 1989, remains in custody in New York and with the guilty plea he could face life imprisonment, although it is foreseeable that he will receive some prison benefits.
The date stipulated for his sentencing is January 13, but before that he is expected to cooperate with the U.S. government – which weeks ago ruled out the death penalty – by providing sensitive information.
For his part, Joaquín Guzmán López will return to a Chicago courtroom in September, where he is also expected to plead guilty after his brother Ovidio, alias El Ratón, did the same last month.
The battle for control of Sinaloa, the all-powerful international drug trafficking center, continues and has already resulted in hundreds of missing persons, deaths that some estimates put at 2,000, and even the closing of schools and establishments due to the terror regime that has been established.
With information from Agencia Efe
