Sinaloa Cartel Leaders Charged with Narco-Terrorism, Material Support of Terrorism, and Drug Trafficking

An indictment unsealed on Tuesday revealed that alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel have been charged with narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and material support of terrorism.

The first of its kind indictment is over the cartel’s trafficking of “massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin into the United States,” according to a press release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“The Sinaloa Cartel is a complex, dangerous terrorist organization and dismantling them demands a novel, powerful legal response,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Their days of brutalizing the American people without consequence are over — we will seek life in prison for these terrorists.”

According to ICE, “Pedro Inzunza Noriega and his son, Pedro Inzunza Coronel, are charged with narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering as key leaders of the Beltran Leyva Organization, a powerful and violent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel that is believed to be the world’s largest known fentanyl production network. Five other BLO leaders are charged with drug trafficking and money laundering. The indictment is a direct 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.”

The Beltran Leyva faction of the cartel is one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. ICE explained that they engage in “shootouts, murders, kidnappings, torture and violent collection of drug debts to sustain its operations.” They control large territories in Mexico, including Tiajuana.

Noriega and his son are accused of “aggressively” trafficking fentanyl into the United States, leading one of the “largest and most sophisticated” production networks of the drug in the world. They are accused of bringing tens of thousands of kilograms of the deadly drug across the border.

In December, Mexican law enforcement raided multiple locations run by duo and seized over 1.65 tons of fentanyl. It was the largest seizure of the drug in history.

ICE and the FBI are working together on the case.

“These charges highlight the unwavering efforts of transnational criminal organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel to flood our communities with deadly drugs,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations San Diego Special Agent in Charge Shawn Gibson. “HSI and our law enforcement partners will not allow cartel-driven drug trafficking to threaten the safety and stability of our neighborhoods. We are all lasered focused on a unified effort to dismantling these networks and their factions in bringing those responsible to justice.”

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