US Charges Pedro Inzunza Noriega and Other Sinaloa Cartel Leaders with Narcoterrorism

The US Department of Justice unveiled an indictment against leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel for narcoterrorism in federal court in San Diego, California.

What the US Indictment Is About

This Tuesday, May 13, the United States unveiled the indictment against Pedro Inzunza Noriega and other members of the Sinaloa Cartel for the crime of narcoterrorism.

This is the first indictment for terrorism and narcoterrorism since the Mexican cartels were designated as international terrorist organizations.

Who is Pedro Inzunza Noriega, “Sagittarius,” linked to the Sinaloa Cartel?

Pedro Inzunza Noriega, also known as El de la Silla, began his criminal career as a financial liaison between organized crime groups and money laundering schemes in Mexico and the United States.

According to the indictment filed on May 10, 2025, in federal court in New York, his role evolved into operational and logistical leadership of a criminal cell dedicated to the importation and distribution of drugs, primarily methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl.

The court file indicates that Inzunza Noriega operated from Mexico but had intermediaries and transporters under his command in the United States, using front companies and highly organized smuggling schemes.