High-ranking Sinaloa Cartel members charged with narcoterrorism

The U.S. Justice Department has charged high-ranking members of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel with narcoterrorism and drug trafficking, accusing them of sending massive amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into the United States while laundering millions of dollars back to Mexico.

The superseding indictment, unsealed Wednesday in the Southern District of Illinois, names 26 defendants tied to the cartel’s drug pipeline, which prosecutors say operated between January 2020 and July 2025.

Authorities allege the network distributed hundreds of kilograms of narcotics across southern Illinois and funneled proceeds through U.S. banks as part of a money-laundering conspiracy.

Among those indicted are Prospero Coronel-Sanchez, known as “Pro,” and Jose Luis Angulo-Soto, known as “El Mi Niño,” both described as Mexican nationals charged with narcoterrorism in addition to drug and money laundering conspiracies.

Others charged include residents of California, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Illinois accused of distributing methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine. Several face additional money laundering counts.

According to court documents, the cartel sourced drugs directly from Mexico and used premeditated violence to secure its supply chain. Prosecutors argue the group’s actions were designed not only to profit but to exert power through “intimidation, torture, and murder.”

Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the charges strike at the heart of “a vicious international criminal organization that relies on narcoterrorism to finance its operations,” calling the case a major step in dismantling the cartel.

DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said investigators seized more than 800 pounds of fentanyl and uncovered a laundering system moving millions of dollars.

The Trump administration earlier this year designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), placing it among eight groups classified as both FTOs and Specially Designated Global Terrorists under federal law.

The Justice Department said 15 of the 26 defendants have been arrested in a nationwide operation over the past week. If convicted, they face decades in prison.