A former Mexican cartel kingpin apologised for flooding the US with cocaine and other substances as he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking.

“I recognise the great harm illegal drugs have done to the people in the United States and Mexico,” Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada told a Brooklyn federal court on Monday through an interpreter. “I apologise for all of it, and I take responsibility for my actions.”

Under the leadership of Zambada and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, prosecutors say the Sinaloa cartel evolved from a regional player into the largest drug trafficking organisation in the world.

They argue the cartel built relationships with cocaine producers in Colombia, oversaw the importation of cocaine to Mexico by boat and plane and the smuggling of the drug across the US-Mexico border.