Former Mexican cartel kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada is set to plead guilty next week in a drug trafficking case that accuses him of ordering torture, plotting murders and flooding the U.S. with cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs.

A Brooklyn federal judge on Monday scheduled an Aug. 25 change of plea hearing for Zambada, a longtime leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. The development comes two weeks after federal prosecutors said they wouldn't seek the death penalty against him.

Zambada, 77, pleaded not guilty last year to drug trafficking and related charges, including gun and money laundering offenses.

Under Zambada and co-founder Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's leadership, prosecutors allege, the Sinaloa cartel evolved from a regional player into the largest drug traffic

See Full Page