The United States government is tightening its net around criminal leaders operating in Baja California for the La Mayiza faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.
A trio identified in security meetings as criminals working for this cartel in the Northwest region of the country are now in the sights of the United States government: René Arzate García, alias La Rana; Alfonso Arzate García, alias El Aquiles; and Juan José Ponce Félix, alias El Ruso. Authorities in the neighboring country are offering a $5 million reward for each of them.
The three are accused of directing drug trafficking and distribution operations, both locally and into the United States.
On February 27, five days after the Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader, Nemesio Oseguera, alias “El Mencho,” was killed, the U.S. State Department announced indictments against the Arzate brothers for crimes related to narcoterrorism, and trafficking in methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and even marijuana.
But the Arzate brothers are not the only individuals of interest to the neighboring country. In September 2025, the same government agency announced a reward of five million dollars for information leading to the capture of Juan José Ponce Félix and/or Jesús Alexandro Sánchez Félix, known as “El Ruso,” also linked to the Mayiza cartel.
The Mayiza trio, with influence in at least six of the state’s seven municipalities, is now worth 15 million dollars to the U.S. government.
