OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:41 PM – Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders were charged with narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and money laundering on Tuesday, after being previously caught by federal authorities — according to an unsealed indictment that was released on May 13th.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI are investigating this case.
Pedro Inzunza Noriega, along with his son, Pedro Inunza Coronel, were both named in the federal indictment — which alleged that the father and son are guilty of “trafficking massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin in the United States.”
“Pedro Inzunza Noriega works closely with his son, Pedro Inzunza Coronel, to produce and aggressively traffic fentanyl to the United States, the government has alleged. Court documents indicate that together the father and son lead one of the largest and most sophisticated fentanyl production networks in the world. Over the past several years, they have trafficked tens of thousands of kilograms of fentanyl into the United States,” a press release by the Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs stated.
The release went on to explain that the two individuals are “key leaders” of the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO), “a powerful and violent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel that is believed to be the world’s largest known fentanyl production network.”
“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 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,” the release stated.
The press release also revealed that five other BLO leaders are similarly being charged with drug trafficking and money laundering.
Mexican law enforcement was previously able to seize 1,500 kilograms of fentanyl on December 3, 2024, through raids on multiple locations in Sinaloa that are “managed” by the father and son, marking “the largest seizure of fentanyl in the world.”
“This 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,” it continued.
Prosecutors explained that the indictment represents the first of its kind from the Justice Department’s newly-formed Narco-Terrorism Unit.
“Operation Take Back America initiatives reflect the reality that narco-terrorists operate as a cancer within a state,” stated U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California. “They metastasize violence, corruption and fear. If left unchecked, their growth would lead to the death of law and order. This indictment is what justice looks like when the full measure of the Department of Justice along with its law enforcement partners is brought to bear against the Sinaloa Cartel.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi added that: “The Sinaloa Cartel is a complex, dangerous terrorist organization and dismantling them demands a novel, powerful legal response.”
“Their days of brutalizing the American people without consequence are over – we will seek life in prison for these terrorists,” she continued.
All of the individuals currently remain at large.
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