Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada built the Sinaloa cartel into the world's most powerful drug trafficking organization. He pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges, raising the possibility he could help U.S.

Mexican drug lord, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, has entered a guilty plea to two drug smuggling and conspiracy charges in a court in New York, bringing an end to one of the longest and most notorious criminal careers in the history of organised crime. Zambada was not just any drug lord.

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.