Ismael Zambada García, also known as El Mayo, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in a New York courtroom, marking the end of one of the Sinaloa cartel's last founders. Zambada admitted to smuggling drugs into the United States for decades and acknowledged the harm caused by illegal drugs.

Ismael Zambada García will spend life in prison. He had been charged with running a criminal network that sold cocaine, heroin and other illegal drugs.

The Justice Department has said it would not seek the death penalty for former cartel leader Ismael Zambada García and other Mexican drug lords in U.S. custody.