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Authorities recently announced a superseding indictment against Sinaloa Cartel Tijuana Plaza leader Rene “La Rana” Arzate-Garcia, and his brother, Alfonso “Aquiles” Arzate-Garcia, for trafficking massive amounts of drugs into America — with the U.S. State Department offering a reward of up to $5 million each for information leading to their arrests.
La Rana, who took on a greater, hyperviolent role within the Sinaloa Cartel, is charged with narcoterrorism, conducting a continuing criminal enterprise, material support to a foreign terrorist organization, international conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and marijuana, and money laundering.
The Arzate-Garcia brothers have jointly controlled the Tijuana Plaza for the Sinaloa Cartel for the past 15 years, maintaining authority through violence, strategic alliances, and deep local influence, including political and police corruption, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Despite ongoing conflicts, authorities claim they continue to manage the critical trafficking corridor, making them key figures in sustaining cartel operations, including trafficking deadly illicit fentanyl, designated by the Trump administration as a “Weapon of Mass Destruction,” into U.S. communities.
Rene Arzate-Garcia is wanted for narcoterrorism and other charges. (Department of Justice)
Court documents allege La Rana uses paramilitary fighters to patrol and control territory, as well as drones equipped with explosives to conduct surveillance.
Officials said his group also has an extensive collection of military grade and high-powered firearms and weapons, including assault weapons and grenade launchers.
“Foreign terrorist organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel have spent decades poisoning our children and committing acts of unimaginable violence against innocent civilians — no longer under President Trump,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a statement.
Alfonso Arzate-Garcia is wanted for conspiracy to distribute meth and marijuana. (Department of Justice)
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“This latest indictment, which follows the landmark conviction of Sinaloa Cartel co-founder ‘El Mayo’ on American soil, is a key development in this Department of Justice’s ongoing campaign to permanently dismantle these cartels and deliver American justice to their cowardly leaders,” she continued.
Last year, Trump designated the Sinaloa Cartel as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
The DOJ shared photos of weapons allegedly tied to the case. (Department of Justice)
The Arzate-García brothers were charged in the Southern District of California in 2014 with drug trafficking offenses in separate indictments and have been fugitives since that time.
In August 2023, the brothers were designated by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Financial Assets Control under an executive order.
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FBI Director Kash Patel said his agency and its partners have an “unwavering” commitment to thwarting the Sinaloa Cartel.
“We will continue to use everything at our disposal to disrupt their operations and prevent further drugs and violence from coming into our communities,” Patel wrote in a statement. “The Sinaloa Cartel, including its leaders, will be forced to face the consequences of their actions.”
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