Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, accused of fentanyl trafficking in the United States

New charges against Ismael

Zambada in the United States.

The Eastern District Court of New York has made public an indictment against the historic leader and founder of the Sinaloa Cartel for manufacturing and distributing fentanyl.

This is the same court that sentenced Joaquín

Guzmán to life imprisonment in 2019 and where a legal offensive was launched against Los Chapitos, the capo's sons.

Washington plays one of his last cards to try to put him in the dock and promises that El Mayo will suffer the same fate as Guzmán.

“This accusation shows our determination to bring him to justice, just as we did with his former accomplice, El Chapo,” reads a statement from the Prosecutor's Office published this Thursday.

Zambada, 76, had already been accused of organized crime, conspiracy to commit murder, money laundering and various crimes related to drug trafficking, such as the transfer of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine to the United States.

The new indictment resumes these charges and adds two more for trafficking in fentanyl.

He also refers to El Mayo, a fugitive for decades, as the leader of “the most powerful criminal organization in the world,” the Sinaloa Cartel.

Until now, US justice had only gone after Los Chapitos, identified last year as the orchestrators behind the criminal group's operations to enter the synthetic drug market.

In the judicial file, to which EL PAÍS had access, El Mayo is accused of building a criminal empire that dates back to 1989 and that it continues to direct to this day.

The United States claims that he has amassed billions of dollars in profits and offers a reward of 15 million dollars to anyone who offers information that leads to his capture.

This is an accusation of 17 criminal counts, which also orders the payment of 14,000 million dollars to repair the damage.

“With the arrest of Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán, Zambada García is the unquestionable and highest-ranking leader of the Sinaloa Cartel,” says the State Department.

El Mayo, much more discreet than El Chapo and whose whereabouts have been unknown for years, faces criminal accusations in five US states: Texas, California, Washington DC, Illinois and New York.

The judicial file mentions his structure of hitmen, corrupt pacts with Mexican authorities and the laundering of billions of dollars in Mexico.

It is the most ambitious attempt to capture him since 2016, when the last accusation against him came out from across the border.

The kingpin has never been captured in almost six decades of life linked to drug trafficking.

Information in development.

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