Son of Sinaloa cartel kingpin pleads guilty in San Diego
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
2021/4/30 23:11 (EDT)
©The San Diego Union-Tribune
SAN DIEGO — A son of Sinaloa cartel kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court Friday to being a leader in the global drug-trafficking empire.
The plea from Ismael Zambada Imperial, known by the nickname “Mayito Gordo,” adds to the growing list of high-ranking figures to be convicted in the United States’ decadeslong attempt to dismantle the cartel — still thought to be Mexico’s most powerful even as its infamous co-leader, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, serves a life sentence in Colorado.
In his plea agreement, Zambada Imperial, 35, admitted to being a major coordinator in the vast drug-trafficking operation headed by his father and Guzman, including importing and distributing ton quantities of cocaine, heroin and marijuana from Mexico into the U.S. He also admitted to ordering acts of violence in furtherance of cartel business.
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The 2014 San Diego indictment against him outlines the far reach of the Sinaloa organization. Just about every mode of transportation imaginable is used to move a variety of drugs, which are then stashed in safe houses along the California border to be later distributed throughout the country, according to the indictment. Cartel profits are funneled through sophisticated laundering and bulk-cash smuggling networks, then used in part to bribe public officials, the indictment alleges.
Read more: https://this.kiji.is/761062670735392768?c=592622757532812385
Older story:
Mexico Captures Sinaloa Cartel Leader’s ‘Chubby’ Son
EL MAYO
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14 NOV 2014 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY
Mexico’s security forces have captured the son of Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in an operation reportedly directed at the capo himself, indicating they may be closing in on the last and most elusive of the older-generation leaders of the group.
In a November 12 operation in Culiacan, Sinaloa, members of the army and the navy arrested Ismael Zambada Imperial, alias “El Mayito Gordo” (Chubby Little Mayo), and several suspected associates, reported El Universal.
Mayito_Serafin
According to the BBC, Mayito is the elder Zambada’s oldest son, and was allegedly involved in trafficking drugs to the United States, but is not thought to have played a leading role in the Sinaloa structure’s operations. Meanwhile, unidentified sources told La Jornada that Mayito’s operations were mainly limited to Culiacan.
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Mayito is the third Zambada son arrested, after Serafin and Vicente Zambada Niebla, the latter of whom was captured in 2009 and extradited to the United States, where he pled guilty to drug trafficking charges in 2013. The arrest also follows on the captures and killings within the past year of various key El Mayo enforcers and associates.
More:
https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/mexico-captures-sinaloa-cartel-leaders-chubby-son/