An unsealed indictment charged alleged members of the the Sinaloa Cartel with federal charges for trafficking hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine into southern Illinois and laundering the proceeds to Mexico.
The indictment alleges that the Sinaloa Cartel is a Mexican-based transnational drug trafficking organization that uses premeditated violence to control territory and undermine governmental authority.
“The Sinaloa Cartel relies on drug trafficking to finance its terrorism against the American people while spreading poison in our communities,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Today’s indictment is a significant blow against this terrorist organization’s infrastructure as we carry out President Trump’s mission of dismantling and destroying the cartels.”
Over about one week, the DEA and law enforcement partners, arrested 15 of the charged defendants in a nationwide operation involving Sinaloa Cartel associates. These indictments and arrests are the result of a years-long operation involving the removal of more than 400 kilograms of fentanyl, nearly 80 kilograms of methamphetamine and 50 kilograms of cocaine from communities around Southern Illinois.
“The Sinaloa Cartel is a vicious international criminal organization that spreads terror through intimidation, torture, and murder. The entire enterprise is financed through a drug distribution network that includes southern Illinois,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft for the Southern District of Illinois. “Today’s superseding indictment targets some of the highest level of Sinaloa leadership demonstrating our commitment to use every possible tool to crush this cartel, dismantling its operations, and protecting our community from its narcoterrorism.”
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President Donald J. Trump designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The designation included the Sinaloa Cartel among eight criminal organizations classified as FTOs and Specially Designated Global Terrorists under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224.
“Today’s announcement in the Southern District of Illinois is monumental in our fight to eliminate the Sinaloa Cartel,” said Administrator Terrance Cole of the Drug Enforcement Administration. “The extraordinary work of the St. Louis Field Division and their partners resulted in the seizure of more than 800 pounds of fentanyl and exposed a money laundering network that pushed millions in cartel profits through U.S. banks. This is not a street-corner operation — it is a cartel pipeline that has flooded the Midwest with significant amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine. We continue the fight, using all the resources of the United States government, to destroy the Sinaloa Cartel.”
Narcoterrorism is a federal crime that provides enhanced penalties to punish drug trafficking that supports terrorist organizations. The crime of providing material support applies when a person provides resources to an organization knowing that it has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment alleging that 26 defendants participated in a Sinaloa Cartel sourced drug distribution pipeline originating in Mexico that included the Southern District of Illinois, including the following:
- Prospero Coronel-Sanchez, age 40, of Mexico
- Jose Luis Angulo-Soto, age unknown, of Mexico
- German Angel Alatorre-Monge, age 24, of California
- Leobardo Alcaraz-Ibarra, age 51, of Phoenix
- Miguel Angel Aramburo, Jr., age 34, of California
- Manuel Buenrostro, age 38, of California,
- Oscar Bryan Castro, age 34, of California
- Carlos Diaz, Jr, age 34, of Pasadena
- Alejandro Flores, 30, of California,
- Armando Gallardo, age 46, of California,
- Karen L. Gandarillas-Carreno, age 36, of California
- Roberto J. Gonzalez, age 39, of California
- Sabrina Danielle Herrera, age 35, of California
- Mauro Armando Luna-Reneria, age 29, of California,
- Lucia Viridiana Montano, age 40, of Arizona,
- David Alonso Pereda, age 33, of California,
- Memo Perez, age 50, of California,
- Jaqueline Desiree Piikkila-Vigueras, age 39, of Arizona
- Miguel Rios, age 31, of California
- Richard Ruiz, Jr., 27, of California
- Evan Sanchez, age 31, of California
- Julio Villa-Morales, age 36, of Arizona
- Jose Espino-Zavala, age 44, of Mexico
- Martin Ismael Zuniga-Lopez, age 32, of Califonia
- Earl Frank, age 56, of Illinois
- Michael Pennel, age 56, of Oklahoma
Court documents say the charged conduct occurred between January 2020 and July 2025. The conspiracy is accused of distributing more than 50 or more grams of methamphetamine, 400 or more grams of fentanyl, and five kilograms or more of cocaine.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
DEA St. Louis, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. HSI’s Parole and Law Enforcement Programs Unit provided critical support.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karelia Rajagopal, Laura Reppert, and Thomas Leggans for the Southern District of Illinois are prosecuting the case.
In March 2023, the original indictment charged Earl Frank and 10 others with various federal offenses related to the drug trafficking conspiracy.
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