By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the accused co-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, is expected to plead guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges, court records showed on Monday.

Zambada, who is in his 70s, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Brooklyn on August 25 for a change of plea hearing before U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan. He had previously pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from his decades allegedly leading the Sinaloa cartel alongside imprisoned kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

The notice that Zambada was expected to change his plea came after the Justice Department last week said it would not seek the death penalty for Zambada or Rafael Caro Quintero, another septuagenarian alleged Mexican drug lord facing U.S. charges.

Guzman is servi

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