August 10 was, for many in Mexico, a quiet Sunday like any other. But in Sinaloa—a northwestern state facing the Pacific—it was no ordinary Sunday. That day, 17 homicides were committed: one every 85 minutes.

Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada is accused of ordering torture, plotting murders and flooding the U.S. with cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs.

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,