US Offers $10 Million Reward for Info on Mexican Sinola Cartel Leader

U.S.-Mexico border/UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION/Greg Johnson

JAKARTA - The United States (US) is offering up to 10 million US dollars (around Rp167.8 billion) for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the leaders of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel.

"Today [February 26], the Bureau of Narcotics and International Law Enforcement of the US State Department through the Narcotics Rewards Program (NRP) announced a reward of up to 5 million US dollars (about Rp83.9 billion) each," said US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott, on Thursday, February 27, reported by ANTARA from Sputnik.

"This offer is for information leading to the arrest and/or prosecution, in any country, of the Boss of the Sinaloa Cartel Tijuana Plaza, Rene Arzate-Garcia, alias 'La Rana,' and his brother, Alfonso Arzate-Garcia, alias 'Aquiles.'," the statement read.

The two brothers are suspected of having controlled the Tijuana faction of the Sinaloa Cartel for about 15 years. In 2023, both were designated by the US for alleged involvement in the global illegal drug trade.

The US Department of Justice also charged René Arzate-García with narcotics terrorism, running a sustained criminal enterprise, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, international drug trafficking conspiracy, and money laundering.

The reward offer was coordinated with the San Diego Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California.

In February 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington had designated eight cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Among them are the Sinaloa Cartel, MS-13, and the Tren de Aragua.