U.S. strikes on Caribbean drug boats likely traced to Mexico’s Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, sources say
Officials and security analysts say information that led to recent U.S. military strikes off Venezuela appears to have originated from a plea deal by the Sinaloa Cartel co‑founder
U.S. military strikes on boats in the Caribbean that the administration says were carrying illegal drugs appear to have been driven by intelligence traced to Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, one of Mexico’s most senior cartel figures, according to people familiar with the matter and reporting by The New York Post.
The strikes included an attack on Monday that the White House said killed three people and an earlier strike this month that U.S. officials said left 11 dead. The administration has publicly described the vessels as drug traffickers operating in international waters off Venezuela.
The information reportedly stems from an August plea agreement in which Zambada, 77, pleaded guilty in federal court to drug trafficking and other charges and agreed to a life sentence rather than face the death penalty, sources told The Post. Zambada, a longtime co‑founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, was extradited to the United States after decades on the run and is currently in a maximum‑security facility in Colorado.
A U.S. security consultant and former law enforcement official, Robert Almonte, told The Post that Zambada provided details on how Venezuela’s so‑called Cartel de los Soles worked with the Sinaloa Cartel to move narcotics. "It's clear to me that El Mayo Zambada cut some deals with the U.S. government, and tipped them off about how Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles was working with the Sinaloa Cartel to sell drugs," Almonte said.
U.S. officials have not publicly detailed the source of the intelligence that led to the strikes. A lawyer for Zambada did not return a request for comment, and Department of Justice officials have declined to disclose whether any additional cooperation terms were part of his plea.
In a Truth Social post accompanying video of Monday’s strike, former President Donald Trump said, "If you are transporting drugs that can kill Americans, we are hunting you." The White House has characterized the actions as part of a broader effort to stem the flow of narcotics and disrupt trafficking networks operating in the region.
The strikes followed an August deployment of U.S. warships to waters off Venezuela and came after a series of U.S. actions targeting Venezuelan networks. In July, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the Cartel de los Soles, alleging the group engaged in narcoterrorism, and in 2020 federal prosecutors indicted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and senior officials on drug‑trafficking charges.
The Department of State on Tuesday announced a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Juan José Ponce Félix, also known as "El Ruso," whom U.S. officials say now leads elements of the Sinaloa Cartel. Almonte told The Post he believes Zambada’s debriefing likely included information about Ponce Félix’s role.
Domestic law enforcement actions have continued in parallel. Earlier this month, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced arrests in New England of dozens of alleged Sinaloa cartel associates and the seizure of drugs, weapons and millions in cash.
Zambada co‑founded the Sinaloa Cartel in 1987 with Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and has been a central figure in international narcotics trafficking for decades. Mexican and U.S. authorities have long sought his arrest; he was detained after being lured onto a plane in Mexico and flown to the United States, an episode Zambada described in a prison letter as a forcible abduction.
While security analysts and some former law enforcement officials have linked recent U.S. operations to intelligence derived from Zambada’s case, U.S. officials have declined to confirm details of any cooperation arrangements. A Justice Department statement accompanying Zambada’s plea said he would be sentenced to life, but it did not disclose other potential terms of any agreement.
The strikes have heightened tensions between the United States and Venezuela’s government, which has dismissed U.S. accusations and called for national defense measures. Venezuelan officials, including President Maduro, have urged citizens to prepare militias in response to perceived threats of external intervention.
The U.S. administration has framed the operations as focused on disrupting transnational drug networks and preventing substances entering the American market. Investigations and prosecutions related to organized crime and drug trafficking remain ongoing, and U.S. officials have vowed continued pressure on networks that link producers in South America with distribution channels in Mexico and the United States.
The full extent of information provided by Zambada, and whether it directly led to specific strikes, remains subject to confirmation by U.S. authorities. The Post report and comments from former law enforcement officials underscore how cooperation by high‑level cartel figures can reshape intelligence on international trafficking routes and influence operational decisions by governments.
Further details may emerge as prosecutors and federal agencies continue prosecutions, sanctions enforcement and criminal investigations related to the Sinaloa Cartel and affiliated networks operating in Venezuela and elsewhere.