A video released by singer Larry Hernández triggered a major mobilization of intelligence forces from both Mexico and the United States.
The recording shows Carlitos—the armed leader of La Mayiza’s ‘Los Rugrats’—calmly eating in a town in Sinaloa. U.S. authorities are offering a five-million-dollar reward for this drug trafficker.
Anonymous Mexican government sources have stated that they are tracking the trafficker and expect news soon. Will he be arrested?
On September 18, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the designation of “Los Mayos” (or “La Mayiza”), a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel identified as responsible for the production and trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine, among other crimes.
In a statement, the U.S. government announced that sanctions issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) target 15 companies and five individuals. Notable among them is Juan José Ponce Félix—alias ‘El Ruso’—the leader of La Mayiza’s main armed wing, for whom a five-million-dollar reward was recently offered.
Also notable is the designation of Carlos Alberto Páez Pereda (‘Carlitos’), the alleged leader of another well-known criminal cell serving La Mayiza: ‘Los Rugrats’.
Páez Pereda’s inclusion on the Treasury Department’s blacklist comes just over two months after the Dominican Republic’s National Police announced a search for him and three other members of ‘Los Rugrats’.
Information regarding Páez Pereda is scarce. According to the Treasury Department, he was born on September 27, 1995, meaning he is approaching his 30th birthday. U.S. authorities state that his base of operations is Laguna Colorada, a small town within the municipality of Culiacán, Sinaloa.
“‘Carlitos’ is the leader of a violent Sinaloa Cartel gang known as ‘Los Rugrats.’ Páez is a fentanyl producer and one of Culiacán’s major drug traffickers,” reads the designation announcement.
On Thursday, the United States also linked ‘Carlitos’ to another notorious Sinaloa Cartel member: René Arzate García, identified as a *plaza* boss for “La Mayiza” in Tijuana, Baja California. ‘La Rana’—as he is also known—faces U.S. charges for drug trafficking, murder, and kidnapping.
“Páez is known to have murdered and attempted to murder rival cartel members on the orders of René Arzate,” the Department of the Treasury noted.
‘Carlitos’ is being designated pursuant to Executive Orders 14059 and 13224 for having acted or purported to act on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel.
