Attorney General Bondi holds news conference on Mexican drug lord El Mayo's guilty plea

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Executive Associate Director, Derek Gordon, FBI Operations Director, who I'm
with everyday, Chad Yarborough, US attorney in the Southern District
of Florida, Jason Quinonez, US attorney for the Western District
of Texas, Justin Simmons, and Acting Assistant A. G. Matt Galliati,

(00:21):
who I'm with almost every day as well. We're here
to announce a landmark victory for the Department of Justice,
our law enforcement partners, and the United States of America.
As you've heard, drug King penn Ishmael Zambada Garcia, also
known as El Mayo, has confessed to a lifetime of

(00:45):
crime in service to the Sinaloa Cartel, a foreign terrorist organization.
Thanks to the relentless work of our prosecutors and our
federal agents, El Mayo will spend the rest of his
life behind bars. He will die in a US federal

(01:07):
prison where he belongs. His guilty plea brings us one
step closer to achieving our goal of elimination of the
drug cartels and the transnational criminal organizations throughout this world
that are flooding our country with drugs, human traffickers, and homicides.

(01:34):
Under President Trump's leadership, the Department of Justice is on
the front lines of this fight. We're standing shoulder to
shoulder with all of our law enforcement partners to dismantle
these narco terrorists. And that's exactly what they are. They
are narco terrorists. Elmayo was one of the most prolific

(01:55):
and powerful drug traffickers in this world. His partner was
El Chopo. They were co founders of the Sinaloa Cartel.
They brutally murdered multiple people and flooded our country with drugs.

(02:16):
Their reign of terror is over. He will never walk
free again. Over the last three decades, al Mayo and
his accomplices made billions of dollars hundreds of millions each year.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
They were making by.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Bringing poisonous drugs into our country.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
No longer.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
The Sinaloa Cartel initially built their businesses with cocaine, but
then under El Mayo's leadership, they turned to heroin. They
turned to fentanyl. They purchased fentanyl precursor chemicals from China.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
They made the.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Drug in Mexico and flooded it into our communities, killing
our kids. Al Mayo also ensured that the Sinaloa Cartel
operated and protected its drug trafficking business.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
By relying on extreme violence.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
They used military grade weapons and directed hit men to
kill their adversaries. They committed gruesome assassinations, kidnappings, and horrible
crimes to maintain discipline within their own organization. He ordered
the murders of countless individuals and rivals. Many innocent people

(03:44):
died as a result of this as well. Almyo operated
with impunity at the highest levels of the Mexican drug
trafficking world by paying bribes to government officials. By bribing
law enforcement officers, he controlled corrupt officials and officers who

(04:05):
protected his workers and his drug shipments that traveled from
Mexico into our country. Elmayo's crimes have been so prolific
that in the past two decades, he's been indicted in
no fewer than sixteen federal courts across our country, sixteen

(04:27):
from western District of Texas to Chicago to here in
the Eastern District of New York. He escaped justice for decades,
but under President Trump's leadership, he has finally been brought
to justice. Today's conviction is the latest success in the
United States fight against deadly cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

(04:54):
We've made remarkable progress. Just to give you a few examples.
Under President Trump's directions. The direction the United States State
Department designated the Cinaloa Cartel, together with five other cartels
and MS thirteen and TDA, as foreign terrorist organizations due

(05:15):
to the serious threat that they pose to our national security.
As a result, the DOJ has already charged leaders of
the Cineloa cartel with narco terrorism and charged alleged members
with support and supporters of TDA, MS thirteen and CJNG,
currently one of the most violent gangs cartels in Mexico.

(05:40):
They provided material support to a terrorist organization. We are
calling these drug kingpins what they are, international narco terrorist
that invade our country, threaten the sovereignty of our borders,
and destroy our community. They are terrorists and we will

(06:03):
prosecute them like they are terrorists. Since President Trump took office,
Mexican authorities have expelled more than fifty high ranking cartel
leaders and other dangerous criminals to our country to face prosecution.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
More than fifty.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
These are historic numbers that ensure that these criminals will
face justice and face justice on American soil. We now
have leaders from CJNNG Sineloa and Los Atas in custody
are prosecutors in the Criminal Division and the Northern District

(06:44):
of Illinois obtained a guilty plea from Ovido Guzman Lopez,
the son of El Chapo and another leader of the
Sineloa cartel, the co founder. Just a few weeks ago,
on August fourteenth, we announced criminal charges against five cartel
leaders and high ranking members of these United cartels. We

(07:07):
will not rest until Americans are safe from these narco terrorists.
Thanks to our law enforcement officers, both here and in Mexico,
who often put their lives on the line every single
day to protect us and to get these violent leaders

(07:28):
off the streets. We are not done yet. At President
Trump's direction, we will continue to fight until every single
cartel boss is behind bars and on American soil and
in American prisons for the rest of their lives.

Speaker 3 (07:47):
Thank you, Thank you, Attorney General Bondi. As you've heard
a short time ago, it is my al Zambada Garcia,
known as El Mayo, pled guilty here in the Eastern
District of New York to being the leader of the
Cineloa cartel, the largest drug trafficking organization in the world.

(08:12):
Among other things, he admitted to leading a continuing criminal
enterprise and to rico conspiracy charges. This is an historic day.
With today's plea, the Sineloa Cartel has been decapitated. Its
two founders and leaders, Joaquin al Chapo Guzman, also known

(08:34):
as El Chopo, and now al Mayo, both stand convicted.
These defendants built a criminal empire in Sineloa, Mexico. Their
cartel grew like it was a cancer throughout the hemisphere.
They flooded the United States with deadly drugs, including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine,

(08:56):
and then fentanol. Al Mayo was first in died in
the Eastern District of New York in two thousand and nine,
and we continued to add charges, including, as the Attorney
General mentioned, fentanyl trafficking, right up until this very year.
As a result of his conviction, al Mayo faces a
sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

(09:20):
This conviction is also a testament to the unrelenting determination
of the prosecutors and the law enforcement agents who would
never stop seeking to bring al Mayo to justice. As
our Attorney General has pointed out, the plea marks the
conclusion of a decades long effort by hard working and

(09:41):
dedicated public servants across the United States. I want to
thank the prosecution team from the Eastern District of New York,
Assistant United States Attorneys Francisco Navarro, Robert Pollock, Adam Emeir,
Lauren Bowman, and of Rebecca erkeleg in addition to the

(10:03):
United States Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida
and the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District
of Texas, both of whom are here with us today.
I also want to acknowledge the important contributions of the
US Attorney's Offices for the Northern District of Illinois, the
Southern District of California, and the Central District of California.

(10:23):
I would also like to thank our American law enforcement
partners at the FBI, Homeland Security, and the DEA, along
with numerous other law enforcement agents throughout the government. I
would also like to thank our counterparts in the Mexican government. Finally,
I gratefully acknowledge the presence here today of Frank Tarantino

(10:45):
from the DEEA, Ricky Ptel from Homeland Security, and Philip
Bates from the FBI. I'm now going to ask Acting
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Gallioti to say a few words.

Speaker 4 (11:06):
Thank you, United States Attorney No sella, good afternoon. My
name is Matthew Galliotti and I'm the Acting Assistant Attorney
General for the Criminal Division and a former Assistant United
States Attorney here in the Eastern District of New York.
Today marks another milestone in the Department of Justices relentless
efforts towards the total elimination of cartel's One of the

(11:27):
most notorious narco terrorists of all time, Ismael al Mayo Zambada,
was convicted in a United States courtroom, having confessed to
more than three decades of crime in service to the
ruthless Sineloa cartel. For decades, the Cineloa Cartel, under al
Mayo's leadership, made billions of dollars by importing dangerous drugs

(11:50):
to the United States, intensifying the drug epidemic in our communities,
by flooding our streets with cocaine, heroin, and ultimately final Today,
el Mayo admitted to crimes of a staggering scope, including
leading a sprawling criminal enterprise that distributed more than one
point five million kilograms of cocaine.

Speaker 5 (12:12):
In addition to other drugs.

Speaker 4 (12:14):
He made corrupt payments to operate with impunity, and he
protected Siniloa's operations by ordering acts of extreme heinous violence,
leaving a trail of human suffering, including innocent victims in
his wake. Pursuing to his guilty plea, Elmyle will spend
the rest of his life in prison and owes fifteen

(12:35):
billion dollars in forfeiture to the United States. Results like
this are not possible without the prosecutors and agents who
have done an extraordinary job building the case piece by
peace and seeing it through to completion. This is another
significant result under Attorney General Bondi's leadership in the department's

(12:56):
unparalleled drive to eliminate cartels. As part of that effort,
we have seen more than fifty high ranking cartel members
expelled to face justice in American courtrooms, collectively one of
the greatest takedowns in United States law enforcement history. Other
leaders have been charged as foreign terrorist organization leaders and
members have been charged as well. We continue to pursue

(13:20):
these individuals to make them see justice in a United
States courtroom. As acting Attorney Assistant Attorney General. I want
to thank all of our law enforcement partners, and I'll
briefly flag in particular, trial attorneys Jace Bourne and Kirk Handrich,
as well as all of the US attorney and law
enforcement partners with us. The Attorney General has made clear

(13:41):
that the department's goal is eradicating the harms caused by
cartels in American communities, and the Department is quickly making
historic progress towards achieving just that.

Speaker 5 (13:54):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (13:55):
It's my honor to introduce DEA Administrator Terry Cole.

Speaker 6 (14:02):
Thank you Matt Madam, Attorney General. Thank you for your
law enforcement support. Thank you for the care and attention
you've given to our police officers every single day, and.

Speaker 5 (14:14):
Thank you for your leadership.

Speaker 6 (14:17):
My name is Terry Cole. I'm the administrator of DEA.
I'm a career eighteen eleven criminal investigator with DEA, and
when I joined this case years ago, we were sometimes
told we were chasing shadows legends of men who believed
they were untouchable. One of those men was El Mayo. However, today,

(14:39):
as you heard he stood in a US courtroom, he
said those words that change everything, guilty. This is just
not another plea. It's a collapse of a myth that
leaders of cartels are beyond the reach of American justice.

(15:01):
Today we prove once again no one is beyond our reach.
I've seen firsthand the families who've lost sons, daughters, brothers, sisters,
the fentanyl pushed by Sineloa and Omayo. When he admits guilt,

(15:22):
it's not just words on a page. It is an
acknowledgment of those lives stolen by his empire. This case
was built brick by brick across continents. It began in
twenty twenty at a targeting meeting that I attended here
in New York. From there, the New York Field Division,

(15:46):
the men and women standing to my right, from all
federal agencies, pursued relentlessly every single member of the Sineloa cartel,
along with our agents in Bogata, along with agents in Madrid,
and our partners at HSI in the FBI, and our

(16:09):
partners at EDIE and Y in the other federal agencies.
Prosecutors that we've mentioned. Our agents just did not build
a case. They carried the memories of US citizens. Juan
Carlos Garcia, who was murdered by the Sineloa cartel in
twenty fifteen. Every interview, every wiretap, every sleepless night was

(16:35):
for justice. It was for justice for those families who
have lost their kids to the Cineloa cartel. Our global
partnerships develop the ultimate blow. We did this by leaning
on our powers of partnerships in New York to Bogata,

(16:57):
to Madrid to Washington. We tore down walls between prosecutors, investigators,
and analysts. We didn't care who got credit.

Speaker 5 (17:09):
The only thing we wanted was the truth.

Speaker 6 (17:14):
It's the same model we used when we took down
Garcia Luna, when we took down Chopo, and as we
continue to dismantle RCQ, it's a model of dismantlement of
the cartels. Today, dismantling cartels, we just didn't go after

(17:34):
the drugs. We went after the decision makers, the financiers,
the killers who directed violence with a single phone call.
This is how we dismantled cartels At the highest level
Global cooperation. DEA is not just an American agency, it's

(17:58):
the world's most trusted part to fight against cartels in
synthetic drugs.

Speaker 5 (18:05):
This case proves what.

Speaker 6 (18:07):
Happens when we work together as one the illicit finance.
These complex historical conspiracies are where DEA thrives, following the money,
listening to cooperators, and turning intelligence into courtroom packed truce.
Every plea is more than a headline. It's one less

(18:31):
pipeline of poison into our neighborhoods. It is one more
life saved from a fentanyl overdose. I've stood in too
many homes where parents and their children keep memories of
those that are lost. Today's guilty plea doesn't bring those
kids back, but it sends a message to the cartels,

(18:55):
to the world, and to families who still grieve.

Speaker 5 (18:59):
DEA will not stop.

Speaker 6 (19:01):
We will hunt the heads of these organizations, We will
tear apart their networks, and we will bring them to justice,
one member at a time. By the men and women
over to my right, the finest career law enforcement investigators
in the world.

Speaker 5 (19:23):
Thank you.

Speaker 7 (19:30):
Good afternoon, Edamaterney General Administrator Cole, thank you for three marks.

Speaker 5 (19:36):
Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Derek Gordon.

Speaker 7 (19:37):
I'm the acting Executive Associate Director for Homeland Security Investigations.
Today mark's an historic day in pursuit of justice for
the countless victims Devadov's regime of terror created for over
thirty years, he yielded unchecked power at the highest levels
of the Mexican drug cartels in the trafficking world, leaving
a legacy of corruption, violence and devastation behind. Indicted sixteen

(20:02):
times over two decades, he continued a criminal enterprise that
shamely peddled death. Together with El Chapo, he transformed the
Cinealoa Cartel into one of the largest most violent drug
trafficking organizations in the world. Under his control, the cartel
became synonymous with public corruption, the generation of billions of

(20:25):
dollars from trafficking fentanyl, the unimaginable bloodshed, acts of outright
terrorism that devastated communities and countless lives. Today he stands defenseless,
defenseless because the relentless investigative efforts of HSI, FBI, DEA,
and the Department of Justice. His guilty plea is not

(20:46):
just a milestone Americans fight against the Cineloa cartel. It's
a victory for the victims whose lives were shattered by
his ruthless regime. But we are far from finished. HSI
Special Agent working alongside our lawn enforcement counterparts have dedicated
decades to investigating for foreign terrorist organizations for the sake

(21:08):
of uncovering, disrupting, and ultimately dismantling them until they are
completely wiped off the face of the earth by any
means necessary. With today's victory, our fight continues with renewed favoracy.
Thank you very much, and I'll turn it over to
my colleague, Chad Yarborough from the FBI.

Speaker 8 (21:31):
Thank you, Derek, Well, good afternoon. My name is Chad Yarborough.
I'm the Operations director for the FBI, and i'll oversee
our cartel efforts. Today's landmark guilty plea of Ismael el
Mayo Zimbada marks a significant step forward in our own
gooing fight against transnational organized crime and the deadly narcotics
trade that threatens communities across this country. The guilty plea

(21:55):
is not only a win for our communities, but a
testament to the FBI's commitment to crush violent crime to
target cartels and gang activity under Attorney General Bondi, I
want to take a few minutes to highlight our partner's
extensive efforts throughout this investigation, and I can't do that
without mentioning our law enforcement partners at DA and HSI

(22:17):
and DOJ, who are working tirelessly together to disrupt and
dismantle these violent criminal networks. This case is the result
of that close collaboration and years of deliberate efforts by
our partners and the FBI, both here and in Mexico.
For decades, the Cineloa Cartel has been one of the

(22:38):
primary drivers of illegal narcotics flowing into the United States.
When this investigation began, our Washington d C Field Office
was able to identify with our partners the cartel's two
main leaders, Zimbada and Joaquin al Chapo Guzman. After Guzman's
arrest in twenty sixteen, Zimbada continued to lead the Mayo

(22:58):
faction of the Cineloa Cartel, which were responsible for trafficking
multi ton quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fitnel, which killed
thousands and thousands of our citizens in the United States.
And in twenty twenty four the FBI and our partners
here were able to arrest Mbada, which has led to

(23:18):
this guilty plea today. Let me be clear, the guilty
plea is not the end of this fight. Sinaloa Cartel
may think that they're powerful and mighty, but rest assured.
We are all up here because we have one goal
in mind, and that is the destruction of the Sinaloa Cartel. Now,
I want the communities to know not even the most

(23:38):
senior leaders of this cartel and others can escape accountability.
Let this be a message to all violent criminals and
members of the cartels that the FBI, DA HSI, and
DOJ will leverage everything we have, all of our resources,
and all of our expertise to bring these individuals to
justice and safeguard our communities.

Speaker 9 (23:58):
Thank you, Good afternoon everyone. Good afternoon, Madame Attorney General,
thank you for your leadership and your support. I'm Jason
Redding ggnonis to the United States Attorney for the Southern
District of Florida. For more than three decades. It's Maael
and Mayo Zambada Garcia commanded one of the most violent

(24:23):
criminal organizations in the world. Under his direction, the Solonol
Cartel used vast resources to bribe officials, intimidate rivals, torture
their enemies, and murder witnesses, all to push poison in
our community. That ends today with his guilty plea at

(24:43):
mile now faces a mandatory life sentence in federal prison.
He will never again lead at cartel that fueled addiction,
spread violence, and tour apart families on both sides of
our border. Let me be clear to anyone who thinks
they will to take his place, we will find you,
We will extrad at you, we will prosecute you, and

(25:06):
we will bring you to justice. I stand here shoulder
to shoulder with our law enforcement partners, and I'm humbled
by their extraordinary work. For years, agents and prosecutors built
it quietly, built this case, peace by peace, fact by fact,
not for glory, but for justice, for justice, for the

(25:30):
thousands of victims left in the wake of a Mile's
reign of terror. Because of their courage, we are here today.
I commend each of them. I especially recognize my assists
in the United States, attorneys Andreo Goldbarg and Monique Potero,
for their relentless pursuit of justice. It's not my honor

(25:51):
to introduce the US Attorney for their Western District of Texas,
Justin Simmons.

Speaker 5 (26:00):
Good afternoon. My name's Justin Simmons.

Speaker 10 (26:02):
I'm in the United States Attorney for the Western District
of Texas. I want to thank you General Bondi for
your support. Thank President Trump as well for his support
in this case and many other cases like it that
we will continue to bring. They provided the resources and
again the support that was needed to make a day
like today happen. Ismail Zimbada Garcia, in partnership with El

(26:23):
Chapo Guzman, led the Cinealoa cartel for decades. In so doing,
they brought millions of kilos of drugs into the United States.
In so doing, they also imprisoned millions of Americans within
the gray walls of addiction, millions of their own countrymen
within the gray walls of violence and fear. Now he

(26:46):
will spend the rest of his life behind walls of
stone and steel. The Western district of Texas was especially
affected by the activities of the Sinaloa cartel. You see,
Warez and El past are connected. Thousands of people every
day crossed through the various points of entries that connect
the two cities and the two countries. Thousands used to

(27:09):
cross illegally every day between the two countries.

Speaker 5 (27:13):
That's not happening so much anymore.

Speaker 10 (27:16):
Warez affects al Paso and so in two thousand and eight,
when the Sinaloa cartel started fighting with the Warez cartel
to take control of that area. Ten thousand people were
killed on the Mexican side, US citizens, at least one
US citizen was kidnapped, tortured and murdered, and stray gunfire

(27:39):
being fired in Warez came across to El Paso. So
those things that were going on that were the product
of the Cineloa cartel's desire to take over that area
directly affected people of the Western District and in Olpasso
in particular. So in April twenty twelve, Ausas in El
Paso brought charges against Elmyo Chappo and twenty two other

(28:03):
members of the Sante Looa cartel. I want to take
it a moment to personally thank AUSA Tony Franco and
AUSA Kyle Myers for their work on this case. One
of those charges that he pled guilty to today was
part of that indictment, part of that twenty twelve indictment.
So this really has come full circle for us in
the Western District of Texas as well. But really today's

(28:26):
not about the Western District of Texas. It's not about
the Eastern District of New York, the Southern District.

Speaker 5 (28:32):
Of Florida, or any other district.

Speaker 10 (28:34):
It's about the government of the people, by the people
and for the people, delivering on a promise, a promise
to eradicate Mexican drug cartels. That's what we're doing, and
we're doing that so Americans can live freely, enjoy liberty,
and pursue happiness. This is part of us delivering on
that promise. And with that, I'll bring up mister Nocella

(28:57):
once again.

Speaker 3 (29:00):
Yeah, thank you. I want to thank everybody for coming.
That concludes our press announcement. There will be no further
proceedings and there are no questions, but I asked that
everybody please remain in your seats as our speakers exit

(29:20):
the room. Thank you, Thank you.

Speaker 1 (29:28):
We'll take a wait. We can take you all have
stayed here all afternoon. Would be glad to take a
couple of questions. Sure, wait, let me get him in
the back of the room first, go ahead, I take
like four questions. Yeah, yeah, if you couldn't hear you

(30:02):
ask about following the money. Following the money is always
part of any of these criminal cases. That's how we're
able to track and find them. I mean this guy
Almayo was living like a king and now he's living
like a criminal for the rest of his life. He
was living in a palace and now he's going to
be in a prison. So following the money is how
we solve these cases. Terry, do you want to add

(30:24):
a couple of words to that.

Speaker 2 (30:25):
With dea.

Speaker 5 (30:27):
So, thank you, Madam Attorney General.

Speaker 6 (30:29):
There is a large cash seizure associated with this forfeiture
that we will that we will get out here shortly.
But more importantly, our work with the Mexican government is
not done. Similar to what we did with our CQ
that we brought to the United States. There are proceedings
happening as we speak.

Speaker 1 (30:52):
Okay, hang on, hang on, just take a few questions,
sir city right there. Well, first, we want to thank
the Mexican authorities for all of their help in bringing

(31:16):
all of these cartel leaders to justice. We're not going
to comment on any of the specifics of any investigation,
but we have brought, under Donald Trump's direction, we have
brought more cartel leaders to justice than any other administration
in this nation's history. Any other questions, go ahead, Eline,

(31:38):
So Mexico, I've done this my entire career as a prosecutor.
When dealing with Mexico, we cannot seek the death penalty.

Speaker 2 (31:46):
We've always known that, and that's.

Speaker 1 (31:48):
An agreement that we've had with Mexico when we get
them to our country.

Speaker 2 (31:52):
That includes many others.

Speaker 1 (31:53):
This guy's seventy eight years old, but he will live
like he's on death row. I can tell you that
he will live in a prison cell the rest of
his life, yes, sir, yeah, yeah, he asked.

Speaker 2 (32:11):
About the air bridge.

Speaker 1 (32:12):
Air bridge is a term that is common in law
enforcement for how drug traffickers move their drugs from multiple
countries Venezuela, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico to our country.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
It's called an air bridge, and they pay off.

Speaker 1 (32:26):
Government officials, they pay people off, they pay off law
enforcement officers in their countries to ignore that and to
let them fly undetected. We're looking at all that. We're
looking at that in multiple countries. Thank you all for
being here and thank you.

Speaker 2 (32:42):
Great question.

Speaker 3 (33:26):
Them like

Speaker 7 (33:39):
Protection assas