Suspected Sinaloa Cartel leader charged with narcoterrorism

(CN) — The Justice Department announced a string of terrorism and drug charges against the accused leader of the Sinaloa Cartel’s “Los Rugrats” wing on Tuesday.

Carlos Paez Pereda, 30, also known as Carlitos and Carlitos Rugrats, is accused of operating a prolific meth, fentanyl and cocaine manufacturing and distribution network and trafficking vast quantities of drugs across the border.

Federal prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Paez Pereda in March and unsealed the nine-page indictment on Tuesday.

“Today’s indictment underscores the FBI’s determination to dismantle the most violent elements of the Sinaloa Cartel,” Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily of the FBI San Diego Field Office said in a statement. “Los Rugrats has fueled brutal violence in Mexico that reaches into the United States along with a relentless flow of deadly drugs into our communities.”

The Justice Department says Paez Pereda used a group of armed fighters and hitmen to enforce the Sinaloa Cartel’s operations in Sinaloa and Tijuana through murder and kidnappings. The feds say the accused leader is responsible for importing tens of thousands of kilograms of illegal drugs into the United States over the past decade, as well as laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in drug proceeds.

Paez Pereda is charged with narcoterrorism, providing material support to terrorism, continuing criminal enterprise, international conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to import controlled substances and money laundering conspiracy. Each charge carries a sentence between 10 years and life in prison if convicted.

The Justice Department said Paez Pereda helped the Los Mayos faction of the cartel during its ongoing violent conflict with the Los Chapitos faction by providing weapons, fighters, logistics and money.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Paez Pereda as a drug kingpin last September. The department said Paez is known to have murdered and attempted to assassinate rival cartel figures on orders from Rene Arzate-Garcia, another accused leader of the Sinaloa Cartel whom the Justice Department charged with narcoterrorism crimes earlier this year.

President Donald Trump designated the Sinaloa Cartel, which is also known as the Mexican Federation or Guadalajara Cartel, as a foreign terrorist organization in early 2025.

“For years, Pereda allegedly fueled the drug crisis by trafficking deadly drugs into the United States while using violence, intimidation, and fear to protect his criminal enterprise,” Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge James Nunnallee said in a statement. “As alleged in the indictment, his organization relied on murder, kidnapping and armed enforcers to maintain power and ensure the continued flow of drugs that have devastated families and communities across our nation.”

Kevin Murphy, acting special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego, credited the Homeland Security Task Force and said the agency will continue to collaborate with federal, state and local law enforcement partners.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Mellor and Peter Horn are prosecuting the case.

Founded by Pedro Aviles Perez in the 1960s, the Sinaloa Cartel is considered one of the most powerful drug cartels in the world.