The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has updated its wanted profile for Ismael Zambada Sicairos, better known as "Mayito Flaco," with Mexico City listed as his latest known location, as the United States simultaneously moves against two networks it says are part of the Sinaloa Cartel faction he leads.
The update comes a day after the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against 21 individuals and 25 companies tied to Zambada Sicairos and the Los Mayos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The DEA's San Diego office shared an updated wanted poster showing a new photograph of Zambada Sicairos and identifying Mexico City as his last known location, according to Infobae México. The previous DEA profile listed only Mexico. The updated information also gives his height as 5 feet 11 inches and his weight as 180 pounds.
The DEA's official fugitive page identifies Zambada Sicairos, born in 1982, as wanted for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. The agency warns that he may be armed and dangerous and says members of the public should not attempt to apprehend him.
The new Mexico City reference does not mean U.S. authorities have announced that Zambada Sicairos was found there. The DEA identifies it as a last known location, while he remains a fugitive.
Zambada Sicairos is the son of longtime Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada García, who was arrested in the United States in July 2024 after being brought to the country aboard a private plane.
According to the Treasury Department, his father's arrest triggered a power struggle between Los Mayos and Los Chapitos, the faction associated with the sons of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. Treasury says the conflict has forced Los Mayos to reorganize under new leadership, with Zambada Sicairos emerging as the faction's leader.
"Mayito Flaco" has been wanted by U.S. authorities for more than a decade. A federal grand jury in Southern California indicted him in July 2014 on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. The Justice Department's records identify him as a defendant in case 14-cr-00658.
The Treasury Department's latest action provides a much more detailed picture of the network U.S. officials say he now controls. The agency described Zambada Sicairos as the "undisputed head" of Los Mayos and said the faction is involved in drug trafficking, murder, extortion, corruption and kidnapping. Treasury also says the group controls important trafficking routes in Baja California, particularly around Tijuana and Mexicali, which it describes as strategic corridors for moving drugs into the United States.
The sanctions target two networks in particular. In Tijuana, Treasury identified the brothers Alfonso Arzate García, known as "Aquiles," and René Arzate García, known as "La Rana," as longtime controllers of the city's plaza. Both had previously been sanctioned by the United States.
The department also sanctioned associates allegedly involved in violence, drug trafficking and money laundering, including people connected to security, real estate, entertainment and currency-exchange businesses.
Treasury alleges that some of those businesses were used to move or disguise proceeds from drug trafficking. In Mexicali, U.S. authorities focused on a group known as Los Rusos, which Treasury says operates as an armed wing of Los Mayos under Juan José Ponce Félix, alias "El Ruso."
That investigation has also drawn attention because of alleged political connections. Among those sanctioned was Carlos Alberto Torres Torres, the former husband of Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila, along with his brother Luis Alfonso Torres Torres.
Treasury alleges that Carlos Torres used political influence to protect cartel operations and that he received payments connected to the organization. The department also sanctioned Pedro Ariel Mendívil García, the former director of public security in Mexicali, alleging that he accepted bribes that allowed the cartel to exert influence over municipal police.
These are allegations by the U.S. government contained in its sanctions announcement, not criminal convictions. The Treasury action also reaches beyond Mexico. U.S. officials allege that people working within the Mayito Flaco network helped move proceeds from drug sales in Southern California back into Mexico and that one associate, Lorenzo Castillo Maldonado, allegedly arranged killings of rival cartel members in Southern California at the direction of the organization.
The sanctions block property and financial interests belonging to the designated individuals and entities that are in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons. Americans are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with those designated under the sanctions, unless authorized by the Treasury Department. The action also highlights the continuing transformation of the Sinaloa Cartel after the arrest of El Mayo.
