Workplace of Public Affairs | Excessive-Rating Members of Sinaloa Cartel Charged with Materials Assist of a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Narcoterrorism

In a superseding indictment unsealed right this moment, high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel are dealing with federal fees for his or her alleged involvement in trafficking tons of of kilograms of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine into southern Illinois and laundering the proceeds to Mexico.

“The Sinaloa Cartel relies on drug trafficking to finance its terrorism against the American people while spreading poison in our communities,” mentioned 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.”

“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,” mentioned 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.”

“Today’s announcement in the Southern District of Illinois is monumental in our fight to eliminate the Sinaloa Cartel,” mentioned Administrator Terrance Cole of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “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.”

The indictment alleges that the Sinaloa Cartel is a Mexican-based transnational drug trafficking group that makes use of premeditated violence to manage territory and undermine governmental authority. The Cartel sustains its enterprise by trafficking narcotics into the United States and funneling the earnings again into Mexico.

Over roughly one week, the DEA, together with legislation enforcement companions, arrested 15 of the charged defendants in a nationwide operation involving Sinaloa Cartel associates. These indictments and arrests are the results of a years-long operation involving the elimination of greater than 400 kilograms of fentanyl, practically 80 kilograms of methamphetamine and 50 kilograms of cocaine from communities in and round Southern Illinois.

President Donald J. Trump designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The designation included the Sinaloa Cartel amongst eight legal organizations categorized as FTOs and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) beneath Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. § 1189) and Executive Order 13224.

Narcoterrorism is a federal crime that gives enhanced penalties to punish drug trafficking that helps terrorist organizations. The crime of offering materials assist applies when an individual offers assets to a company realizing that it has been designated as a international terrorist group.

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, together with the next:

Name	Age	Residence	Charge(s)
Prospero Coronel-Sanchez, also called “Pro”	40	Mexican nationwide	Narcoterrorism; offering materials assist to international terrorist group; Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; cash laundering conspiracy
Jose Luis Angulo-Soto, also called “Jose Luis Angulo-Cazares” or “El Mi Nino”		Mexican nationwide	Narcoterrorism; conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; cash laundering conspiracy
German Angel Alatorre-Monge	24	South Gate, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Leobardo Alcaraz-Ibarra	51	Phoenix	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Miguel Angel Aramburo, Jr.	34	Paramount, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Manuel Buenrostro	38	Cudahy, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Oscar Bryan Castro	34	Pasadena, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; cash laundering conspiracy
Carlos Diaz, Jr.	34	Pasadena	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; cash laundering conspiracy
Alejandro Flores	30	Cudahy, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Armando Gallardo	46	Chula Vista, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Karen L. Gandarillas-Carreno	36	Sun Valley, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; cash laundering conspiracy
Roberto J. Gonzalez, Jr.	39	Bell, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Sabrina Danielle Herrera	35	South Gate, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Mauro Armando Luna-Renteria	39	Lynwood, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Lucia Viridiana Montano	40	Rio Rico, Arizona	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
David Alonso Pereda	33	Costa Mesa, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Memo Perez, also called “Demecia Perez”	50	Los Angeles	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Jaqueline Desiree Piikkila-Vigueras	49	Tucson, Arizona	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; cash laundering conspiracy
Miguel Rios	31	Cudahy, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Richard Ruiz, Jr.	27	Paramount, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Evan Sanchez	31	Victorville, California	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Julio Villa-Morales	36	Tucson	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Jose Espino-Zavala	44	Mexican nationwide	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Martin Ismael Zuniga-Lopez	32	Los Angeles	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine
Earl Frank	56	O’Fallon, Illinois	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; cash laundering conspiracy (2 counts); distribution of managed substances: methamphetamine
Michael Pennel	56	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; cash laundering conspiracy

According to courtroom paperwork, the charged conduct occurred between January 2020 and July 2025. The conspiracy is accused of distributing greater than 50 or extra grams of methamphetamine, 400 or extra grams of fentanyl, and 5 kilograms or extra of cocaine.

This case is a part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the total assets of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of unlawful immigration, obtain the entire elimination of cartels and transnational legal organizations, and shield our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and assets 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 supplied essential assist.

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 unique indictment charged Earl Frank and 10 others with varied federal offenses associated to the drug trafficking conspiracy:

Name	Age	Residence	Charge(s)	Plea
Earl Frank	56	O’Fallon, Illinois	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; distribution of managed substance: methamphetamine; cash laundering conspiracy	Not responsible
Michael Pennel	56	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; cash laundering	Not responsible
Chontell Reynolds	42	East St. Louis, Illinois	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; distribution of managed substance: methamphetamine	Guilty; awaiting sentencing
Jeffery Neely	54	St. Louis	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine	Guilty; awaiting sentencing
Dereck Turnage	49	Bowling Green, Missouri	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine	Guilty; sentenced to 235 months in jail
David Allen Day	55	Ironton, Missouri	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine	Guilty; Sentenced to twenty years in jail
Dwayne Kimmins	52	St. Louis	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine	Guilty; Sentenced to 9 years in jail
Charles R. Evans	35	O’Fallon, Missouri	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine	Guilty; Awaiting sentencing
Shannon Guyton	46	Clarkton, Missouri	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; transportation in support of racketeering enterprise	Guilty; sentenced to eight years in jail
Kimberly Hoskins	38	O’Fallon, Illinois	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; cash laundering	Guilty; Awaiting sentencing
Aundre Vaughn	54	East St. Louis, Illinois	Conspiracy to distribute managed substances: methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine; distribution of managed substances: fentanyl	Guilty; Awaiting sentencing

 

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed harmless till confirmed responsible past an inexpensive doubt in a courtroom of legislation.