Mexico Asks U.S. to Share $15 Billion in Seized Cartel Funds With Country’s Poorest
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday she will formally ask the United States to return a portion of the $15 billion in assets to be seized from convicted drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada — funds she believes should benefit Mexico’s most vulnerable communities.
Zambada, co-founder of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court in New York earlier this week to multiple charges, including drug trafficking and murder, particularly linked to the illegal fentanyl trade — a drug that has fueled tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the United States annually.
The 77-year-old cartel boss avoided the death penalty as part of his plea deal but still faces life in prison. He also agreed to forfeit $15 billion in assets acquired through decades of illicit activity.
“If the United States government is going to recover those resources, then we’ll ask for them to be used in Mexico — for the benefit of our poorest people,” Sheinbaum said at her daily press briefing.
Zambada, long considered one of the most powerful figures in global drug trafficking, eluded capture for over two decades before his arrest in July 2024. He was taken into custody after arriving by private jet in El Paso, Texas, with Joaquín Guzmán López, son of fellow Sinaloa leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Zambada claims he was kidnapped in Mexico and brought to the U.S. against his will by Guzmán López — a claim denied by the latter’s legal team.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Zambada oversaw a paramilitary operation that included military-grade weapons, a vast network of hitmen, and an international distribution system. Prosecutors allege that months before his arrest, Zambada ordered the killing of his own nephew to consolidate power.
After his extradition, violent clashes erupted between rival factions of the cartel — one loyal to Zambada and the other to the “Chapitos,” sons of El Chapo. U.S. authorities have accused the Chapitos of extreme brutality, including feeding victims to tigers, dead or alive.
The Sinaloa Cartel, which operates extensively on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. Despite recent arrests and infighting, Mexican officials caution that the cartel remains active.
“Some factions have been weakened, but the organization is far from dismantled,” said Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, Mexico extradited 26 cartel suspects to the United States as part of an expanding anti-narcotics cooperation agreement with the Trump administration, which has significantly increased pressure on transnational drug networks..
