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Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
First-in-the-nation indictment charges Sinaloa cartel leaders with narco-terrorism, drug trafficking
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — U.S. officials have formally charged leaders of the Sinaloa cartel with terrorism-related charges related to trafficking drugs into the United States. Leaders are calling this a milestone case. The indictment, which was just unsealed Tuesday, is the first-of-its-kind in the nation. 'To the leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, you are no longer the hunters, you are the hunted, you will be betrayed by your friends, you will be hounded by your enemies and you will ultimately find your fate here in the Southern District of California,' U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said on Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the unsealed indictment on Tuesday, charging alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel with narco-terrorism and material support of terrorism in connection with trafficking massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin into the United States. DOJ: 22 charged for role in drug trafficking organization linked to Beltran Leyva Cartel According to the DOJ, Pedro Inzunza Noriega (aka 'Sagitario,' aka '120,'aka 'El De La Silla') and his son, Pedro Inzunza Coronel (Aka 'Pichon,' Aka 'Pajaro,' Aka 'Bird'), are facing narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering charges as alleged key leaders of the Beltran Leyva Organization, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel that is believed to be the world's largest known fentanyl production network. Five other BLO leaders are also charged with drug trafficking and money laundering, the DOJ reports: David Alejandro Heredia Velazquez (Aka 'Tano,' Aka 'Mr. Jordan') Oscar Rene Gonzalez Menendez (Aka 'Rubio') Elias Alberto Quiros Benavides Daniel Eduardo Bojorquez (Aka 'Chopper') Javier Alonso Vazquez Sanchez (Aka 'Tito', Aka 'Drilo') According to court documents, since its inception, the Beltran Leyva faction has been considered one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations to operate in Mexico, engaging in shootouts, murders, kidnappings, torture and violent collection of drug debts to sustain its operations. The court alleges 'the Beltran Leyva faction controls numerous territories and plazas throughout Mexico — including Tijuana — and operates with violent impunity, trafficking in deadly drugs, threatening communities, and targeting key officials, all while making millions of dollars from their criminal activities.' DOJ: 16 indicted in San Diego for allegedly distributing meth, fentanyl, heroin across US According to the indictment, Pedro Inzunza Noriega worked with his son, Pedro Inzunza Coronel, to produce and traffic fentanyl to the United States. Court documents allege that the father and son were leading one of the largest and most sophisticated fentanyl production networks in the world. Over the past several years, they are alleged to have trafficked tens of thousands of kilograms of fentanyl into the United States. On December 3, 2024, Mexican law enforcement raided multiple locations in Sinaloa that reportedly were controlled and managed by the father and son, seizing 1,500 kilograms (more than 1.65 tons) of fentanyl — which is reported to be the largest seizure of fentanyl in the world. According to the DOJ, Federal drug trafficking indictments are pending against all alleged leaders of the Beltran Leyva faction, including: Fausto Isidro Meza Flores (aka 'Chapo Isidro') Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe (aka 'El Musico') Pedro Inzunza Noriega (aka 'Sagitario') The Southern District of California also has indictments pending against other alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, including: Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar (aka 'El Chapito') Ismael Zambada Sicairos (aka 'Mayito Flaco') Jose Gil Caro Quintero (aka 'El Chino') The DOJ says this indictment is a result of President Trump's Executive Order 14157, which designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and the Secretary of State's subsequent designation of the same on February 20, 2025. 'El Chapo'-linked narcotrafficker sentenced for moving millions of dollars worth of cocaine It is the first indictment from the newly formed Narco-Terrorism Unit which was established upon the swearing in of U.S. Attorney Gordon on April 11, 2025. Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led the investigation in this case. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, and the result of ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. Zara Barker contributed to this report Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
13-05-2025
- New York Times
Prosecutors Charge Sinaloa Cartel Operatives With Terrorism Crimes
Federal prosecutors in Southern California filed narco-terrorism charges Tuesday against two leaders of the Sinaloa drug cartel, accusing them of offering material support for terrorism in connection with their alleged efforts to smuggle large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin into the United States. The indictment filed in Federal District Court in San Diego was the first time that prosecutors had accused operatives of the Sinaloa cartel of terrorism crimes since the Trump administration designated the group a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year. The indictment charged a father and son — Pedro Inzunza Noriega, 62, and Pedro Inzunza Coronel, 33 — with violating terrorism statutes while running a drug business that reached from Mexico to Guatemala, Panama and Costa Rica. The two men were leaders of the Beltrán-Leyva faction of the cartel, prosecutors said, and were named in the indictment with five of their subordinates, who were not accused of terrorism offenses. The nine-page charging document did not include any details about how the men had engaged in the alleged narco-terrorism. It remains to be seen whether the case against them will reveal any evidence supporting the terrorism charges that go beyond the administration's decision to identify the Sinaloa cartel as a terrorist organization. Trump administration officials have also designated other criminal mafias as terrorist groups, including Mexican drug gangs like the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and more traditional street gangs like Tren de Aragua, which is based in Venezuela, and the Salvadoran group known as MS-13. Over the past several years, prosecutors claim, Mr. Inzunza Noriega and his son trafficked tens of thousands of kilograms of fentanyl into the United States. In December, they said, Mexican law enforcement officials raided multiple locations in Sinaloa that were controlled and managed by the men, discovering nearly 20 million doses of the drug in what was described as a record seizure. At the time, President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico said the operations were part of a long investigation and had resulted in 'the largest mass seizure of fentanyl pills ever made.' She added that the operation had seized more than a ton of fentanyl pills worth nearly $400 million. U.S. law enforcement officials have generally supported the idea of designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations — if only because it gives prosecutors the ability to charge cartel defendants under powerful federal statutes that often carry stiff penalties. But prosecutors have not yet had to defend such charges in court and may face pushback not only from defense lawyers, but also from judges overseeing such cases. Prosecutors have traditionally relied on drug conspiracy charges to go after cartel operatives. Last week, for example, Ovidio Guzmán López, one of four sons of the former Sinaloa cartel leader known as El Chapo, indicated in court papers that he planned to plead guilty in July to a sprawling charge known as a continuing criminal enterprise.
