On Tuesday, the Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs announced that it is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of El Ruso, a leader within the Sinaloa Cartel. The cartel was recently designated as a U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization.
$5 Million reward offer! If you have any info that can lead to the arrest & conviction of Juan José Ponce Félix "El Ruso," we urge you to call or email a new tip line. https://t.co/YHhKxyQuIV pic.twitter.com/8kXzoISuaG
— DEALosAngeles (@DEALOSANGELES) September 16, 2025
🚨🇺🇸 The DEA, along with the U.S. Departments of Justice and State, announced a $5 million reward for Juan José Ponce Félix, alias “El Ruso,” leader of Los Rusos and a key figure in the Sinaloa Cartel.
— FEDERAL INVESTIGATION INTERNATIONAL (@internatio56662) September 16, 2025
🔴 He is accused of drug trafficking, kidnapping, torture, and homicides to… pic.twitter.com/5XWbzksI9b
El Ruso, also known as Juan José Ponce Félix or Jesús Alexandro Sanchez Félix, is the founder and leader of Los Rusos, the primary armed wing of the La Mayiza faction within the Sinaloa Cartel, according to the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). La Mayiza is responsible for the manufacturing of narcotics like fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine, and transporting them from Northwestern Mexico to the United States. His faction specifically holds control over the Mexicali corridor, directly responsible for thousands of American overdose deaths.
Since 2015, El Ruso has been indicted multiple times by the Central and Southern Districts of California on charges ranging from money laundering and racketeering to drug trafficking and firearms violations.
This comes amid the Trump administration's broader crackdown on illegal immigration, as well as the trafficking of fentanyl into the United States. President Trump warned that he would no longer let the cartels traffic narcotics freely across the Southern border.