Sinaloa Cartel leaders face narco-terrorism charges for fentanyl ring

Two leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel were hit with narco-terrorism charges on Tuesday for their involvement in allegedly trafficking “massive” amounts of drugs into the United States, according to federal officials.

Pedro Inzunza Noriega and his son, Pedro Inzunza Coronel, were both named in an unsealed federal indictment on Tuesday and charged with narco-terrorism, material support of terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering as members of the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO), which is a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. Five other BLO leaders were charged with drug trafficking and money laundering.

The charges come after the Trump administration designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on Feb. 20.

Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Noriega works closely with his son to both produce and “aggressively traffic” fentanyl into the United States. They allege that the two have led “one of the largest and most sophisticated fentanyl production networks in the world.”

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Authorities said that the father and son have trafficked “tens of thousands of kilograms of fentanyl” into the United States. According to federal prosecutors, Tuesday’s indictment is the first of its kind from the Department of Justice’s newly formed Narco-Terrorism Unit.

On Dec. 3, 2024, Mexican law enforcement officials raised several locations in Sinaloa that are controlled and managed by the pair, seizing more than 1.65 tons of fentanyl.

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Indictments are also pending against members of the BLO and Sinaloa Cartel, which include Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe, Pedro Inzunza Noriega, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, Ismael Zambada Sicairos and Jose Gil Caro Quintero.

All individuals, as well as Noriega and Coronel, remain at-large.

Adam Gordon, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, had a message for members of the Sinaloa Cartel during a press conference on Tuesday.

“Let me be direct: 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 yourself and your face here in a courtroom in the Southern District of California,” Gordon said.