Cartel boss Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada gets life in U.S. prison 2 years after he says he was kidnapped, flown to Texas

Former Mexican drug kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was sentenced in a U.S. court Monday to life in prison, seven years after his Sinaloa cartel co-founder Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán was handed the same sentence. Zambada's sentencing in Brooklyn federal court was the culmination of the U.S. government's yearslong fight to bring the long-elusive cartel leader to justice. He was arrested in 2024 after he said he was kidnapped in Mexico and flown to Texas."No one wins in a war like this," the 76-year-old Zambada said through a Spanish-language translator in court. He apologized "for the harm I caused and for the example I set." He urged future generations to "choose a different path.""If there's one thing I can say that has value today, it's this: the violence must end," the Sinaloa cartel co-founder said.