Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, accused of being a significant figure in organized crime globally, stated he was not guilty of claims that he contributed to the fentanyl epidemic in the U.S. as an alleged leader of the Sinaloa Cartel in a New York federal courtroom on Friday.

At 76 years old, Zambada was ordered to stay in detention while he awaits trial during a short arraignment in Brooklyn federal court. He faces 17 charges including drug trafficking, firearms violations, and money laundering. This indictment is the fifth against a person seen as the mastermind of the cartel, which he helped transform into a dominant international drug trafficking and criminal organization alongside co-defendant Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who was captured in 2016.

During the proceedings, Zambada appeared fragile, responding briefly to U.S. Magistrate Judge James Cho in the Eastern District of New York.

When asked by a translator if he was indeed Ismael Zambada, he answered, “Sí, señor.”

When questioned about his well-being, Zambada replied, “Fine, fine,” according to sources familiar with the case.

Zambada’s attorney, Frank Perez, submitted the not guilty plea on his behalf. Perez declined to comment further but mentioned outside the court that Zambada is anticipated to go to trial instead of seeking a plea bargain with prosecutors.

“It’s a complex case,” said Perez, as reported by the Associated Press.

Zambada: The ‘Co-founder and Head of the Sinaloa Cartel’

Officials from the Justice Department termed Zambada’s arraignment as a significant development in the U.S. efforts against Mexican drug cartels, which have recently inundated the nation with synthetic opioids. Fentanyl, being up to 50 times more potent than heroin, has caused over 160,000 deaths in the past two years, according to the CDC.

“El Mayo, recognized as the co-founder and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, has been accused of managing a multi-billion-dollar conspiracy to inundate American neighborhoods with narcotics, including the dangerous fentanyl,” stated Attorney General Merrick Garland. “We claim that El Mayo constructed and led the Sinaloa Cartel’s extensive network of producers, assassins, traffickers, and money launderers responsible for kidnapping, murdering victims in the U.S. and Mexico, and importing large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, meth, and cocaine into the U.S.”

Zambada entered U.S. custody in Texas on July 25.

In a letter sent last month, he claimed he was abducted in Mexico by the son of El Chapo, who is also on the U.S. wanted list for his role in the fentanyl trade, transported against his will across the Texas border, and then handed over to U.S. authorities. He was transferred on Thursday from the Western District of Texas to the Eastern District of New York, where he was first indicted in 2009.

El Chapo was sentenced to life plus 30 years after being convicted in Brooklyn federal court in 2019.

“Zambada Garcia’s time to face justice in a U.S. courtroom has finally come, and justice will prevail,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace on Friday. “If found guilty, he will no longer be able to import fentanyl, cocaine, and other dangerous drugs into our nation or profit from the loss of countless innocent lives.”

Although it started as a family-run operation that included their children, El Mayo and El Chapo managed the Sinaloa Cartel from 1989 to 2024, creating a “complex, layered” and advanced organization that controlled every facet of the drug trade, “from the source of supply to distribution in the streets of the United States,” according to the Justice Department.

Zambada also employed groups of “sicarios,” or hitmen, on both sides of the border to eliminate “anyone who jeopardized their lucrative drug pipeline” and to take revenge on enemies and suspected informants, as noted by the Justice Department. “The billions collected from drug sales were then transported and laundered back to Mexico.”

The Sinaloa Cartel, led by Zambada, began venturing into the production and distribution of fentanyl around 2012. This move reportedly generated millions of dollars annually through corruption and involved ongoing violent tactics to maintain its operations, according to the superseding indictment and various court documents.

If found guilty, Zambada could face a mandatory life sentence.

Joaquín Guzmán López, who Zambada claims kidnapped him, has pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and other related offenses in a federal court in Chicago.