Overview

• Zambada pleaded guilty to directing a continuous criminal enterprise and to a RICO conspiracy, avoiding a public trial after years of litigation.
• Judge Brian M. Cogan scheduled sentencing for January 13, 2026 in the Eastern District of New York, with the punishment to be determined at that hearing.
• Prosecutors said the agreement includes forfeiture valued at about $15 billion tied to decades of cartel operations.
• In court, Zambada admitted paying bribes to police, military and politicians in Mexico during his leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel.
• The Justice Department previously declined to seek the death penalty, and the plea consolidates seven Texas counts into the New York case while leaving open the possibility of cooperation.