MEXICO CITY: An alleged leader of the notorious Sinaloa cartel wanted by the United States has been arrested in Mexico on drug and terrorism charges, Mexican government sources said Wednesday.

Pedro Inzunza Noriega was accused by the United States in May of trafficking large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and heroin into the country as the second-in-command of the Beltran Leyva Organization, a faction of the cartel now believed to be defunct.

He was taken into custody from Mexico’s northwestern Sinaloa state, the sources said.

The US indictment marked the first time an alleged leader of the cartel was charged with “narco-terrorism and material support of terrorism,” according to the Justice Department.

“The Sinaloa Cartel is a complex, dangerous terrorist organization and dismantling them demands a novel, powerful legal response,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said at the time.

“Their days of brutalising the American people without consequence are over — we will seek life in prison for these terrorists.”

US President Donald Trump’s administration has conducted strikes on alleged drug boats in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean, killing more than 100 people.

Trump has demanded Mexico increase its efforts to combat drug trafficking, threatening tariffs on its exports if more is not done.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2026