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Caribbean-Latin America

Alleged cartel cell leader wanted in San Diego killed during Mexican operation

2026-10-29

[SDUT] An alleged leader of a drug trafficking organization wanted in San Diego was killed in a clash with Mexican military forces in Sinaloa, Mexican officials said Wednesday.

Jesús González Peñuelas, also known as "Chuy," was previously indicted on drug trafficking charges by grand juries in San Diego and Colorado. The U.S. government was offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest.

Mexican Secretary of Security Omar García Harfuch said in a social media post that personnel from the Mexican Navy were conducting an operation in a Sinaloa neighborhood Monday when they came under attack by members of a criminal cell. The military members fired back.

García Harfuch said that two people, including González Peñuelas, were killed during the operation. He was identified as one of the operators of the Guasave cartel, an organization linked to the Sinaloa cartel.

In San Diego, González Peñuelas was indicted in 2017 on charges of international conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, court records show. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego declined to comment Wednesday.

González Peñuelas, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, was accused by U.S. officials of "heading a longstanding organization involved in trafficking illicit drugs into the United States and laundering funds for the Sinaloa Cartel."

U.S. officials said that since 2007, González Peñuelas was responsible for the production and distribution of methamphetamine and heroin to the U.S. since 2007, and was a "major distributor" of cocaine and fentanyl, according to a May news release by the Department of the Treasury.

The federal agency said that as cell leader of the Sinaloa cartel, he operated primarily in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, with distribution cells in California, Texas, Colorado, Washington, Utah and Nevada.

Posted by:Frank G

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