Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, a long-time leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court in Brooklyn on 25 August. Under the plea, prosecutors secured a forfeiture order of US$15 billion, which they say reflects the cartel chief’s profits since 1969. Zambada, 74, acknowledged moving large quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States and faces a potential life sentence. In court, Zambada admitted that the Sinaloa Cartel “encouraged corruption” in Mexico by paying police, military officers and politicians who allowed the organisation to operate freely. He did not identify individual officials, and his lawyer said the plea does not include a cooperation agreement with U.S. authorities. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded that any evidence involving Mexican officials must be presented formally to the country’s Fiscalía General de la República. “Tendría que haber una denuncia, ¿a quién le daba dinero?”, la mandataria preguntó, adding that no complaints have yet been filed. Sheinbaum also noted that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration places Zambada and fellow cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán on the same level as former public-security secretary Genaro García Luna, underscoring the potential political reverberations of the case.