Narco-terrorism charges filed against cartel leaders who allegedly control Tijuana corridor
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René Arzate-Garcia, a leader in the powerful Sinaloa cartel and the alleged cartel boss of the Tijuana plaza, is now facing charges of narco-terrorism and material support of terrorism, federal officials announced in San Diego on Thursday.There is a new $5-million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the 42-year-old alleged trafficker, known as “La Rana” or “The Frog.” Federal officials allege that Arzate-Garcia, along with his brother Alfonso Arzate-Garcia, have controlled the Tijuana corridor for the Sinaloa cartel and are responsible for drugs, and violence, across both sides of the border.
The cartel leaders are also suspected of maintaining ties to gangs on both sides of the border.The brothers’ whereabouts are unknown, according to authorities.The indictment, announced Thursday, is the latest in the Trump administration’s targeting of Mexican drug cartels, and efforts to charge leaders of the violent organizations as narco-terrorists.The new indictment supersedes one in 2014 against Arzate-Garcia and is part of an aggressive approach to targeting kingpins and other cartel leaders who continue to move drugs across the border, said Adam Gordon, U.S.
attorney for the Southern District of California.“When I told them they were no longer hunters, they were the hunted, it wasn’t a threat.
It was certainty,” Gordon said.Arzate-Garcia’s brother, Alfonso Arzate-Garcia, also known as “Aquiles,” also has a $5-million bounty for his arrest and conviction.In January 2025, the White House announced that several Mexican cartels were being designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
The latest charges were announced days after Mexican soldiers killed another drug kingpin, known as “El Mencho.” World & Nation The Mexican army has killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in a military operation.The death of Ne...