NEW YORK CITY, NY — A recent court memorandum submitted by the defense team of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada has unveiled unprecedented details regarding the private life of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel co-founder, revealing that the 76-year-old kingpin has fathered 16 children.
The document, signed by his defense attorney Frank Pérez and directed to U.S. District Judge Brian M. Cogan, contains personal background meant to provide context ahead of Zambada’s sentencing. According to the filing, the drug lord’s descendants range in age from 55 years old down to a mere six years old, meaning Zambada fathered his youngest child around the age of 70.
While public knowledge and judicial records had previously identified only about half of his offspring—including figures like Ismael Zambada Sicairos (“Mayito Flaco”) and Vicente Zambada Niebla (“El Vicentillo”)—the new filing effectively doubles his officially recognized lineage.
The defense stated that Zambada procreated these 16 children with at least five different women. Local reports from the Diario de Yucatán noted that his past partners included Rosalinda D.G., a woman from Yucatán known as “La Yuyi,” with whom he allegedly shared two children.
Despite the complex legal situations and immense geographical dispersion facing various family members over the decades, the memorandum claims that Zambada made every effort to maintain active contact and meaningful relationships with all of his children.
The filing comes as his legal team seeks to have his life sentence served in a specialized prison hospital rather than a maximum-security facility, citing his deteriorating health.
Source: Diario de Yucatán
