DEA and Pam Bondi Discuss "Narco Terrorist" Ismael Zambada's Plea Deal and Sinaloa Cartel Conviction

Sinaloa Cartel's Criminal Empire

• 🇲🇽 The Sinaloa Cartel built a criminal empire in Mexico that spread like a "cancer throughout the hemisphere."
• 💊 They were responsible for flooding the United States with deadly drugs, including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl.

Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada's Conviction

• ⚖️ Ismael Zambada, also known as "El Mayo," faces a sentence of life in prison without parole following his conviction.
• 📅 Charges against him were continuously added, including fentanyl trafficking, up until the current year, with his initial indictment in 2009.
• 💰 The conviction highlights the importance of "following the money" to track and apprehend high-level criminals, moving Zambada from living "like a king" in a palace to a prisoner.

Impact and Investigation

• 💔 The case represents an acknowledgment of lives lost to fentanyl pushed by the Sinaloa Cartel, particularly in regions like Ohio.
• 🌍 This extensive case was built across continents, starting with a targeting meeting in New York in 2020.
• 🤝 The investigation involved relentless pursuit by prosecutors and law enforcement agents from various federal agencies, including partners in Bogota and Madrid, alongside HSI and the FBI.