Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García was sentenced to life in prison in a U.S. federal court after pleading guilty to leading the Sinaloa cartel and trafficking massive amounts of drugs.

The 76-year-old co-founder of the cartel also agreed to forfeit $15 billion in illegal profits as part of his punishment.

Zambada accepted responsibility for his crimes and called for an end to drug-related violence in Mexico during his sentencing statement.

His 2024 arrest followed a controversial cross-border operation and contributed to a violent split within the Sinaloa cartel, The Guardian has reported.

The sentencing marks one of the most significant U.S. convictions of a Mexican drug trafficker since Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán received a life sentence in 2019.