The U.S. government is offering $5 million rewards for the capture of the brother of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and three alleged leaders of a branch of the Sinaloa drug cartel in Chihuahua.
Federal agents are seeking Guzman’s brother Aureliano Guzman Loera, alias “El Guano,” of Sinaloa, and brothers Ruperto, Jose and Heriberto Salgueiro Nevarez of Chihuahua.
Aureliano Guzman Loera is accused of running an extensive drug-trafficking network in Mexico, Arizona and Texas, the Arizona Republic reported.
The Salgueiros are brothers of Noel “El Flaco” Salgueiro, who is accused of at one time being the Sinaloa cartel’s top figure in the Chihuahua region.
“El Flaco” Salgueiro allegedly was a lieutenant to “El Chapo” Guzman and one of the founders of the Gente Nueva, the branch of the Sinaloa cartel in Chihuahua state.
A decade ago, a war between the Gente Nueva and the Juárez drug cartel turned Juárez into one of the most violent cities in the world.
Jose, known as “El Che,” Ruperto, alias “El 37,” and Heriberto Salgueiro Nevarez allegedly took command of the family-run drug organization following “El Flaco” Salgueiro’s capture by Mexican army special forces 10 years ago in Culiacán, Sinaloa.
U.S. authorities list the brothers as being from Guadalupe y Calvo in the southern tip of Chihuahua. The small mining town is in the “Golden Triangle,” a rugged, remote region at the corner of the states of Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Durango known for growing opium and marijuana.
Targets of bounty revealed in Tucson indictments
The U.S. State Department is offering rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the arrest of the four men accused of being high-ranking cartel members.
The rewards were announced Friday after the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tucson unsealed two indictments on international drug trafficking charges.
The men are accused of smuggling fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana over several years, the Department of Justice stated.
The reward is offered under the State Department’s Narcotics Rewards Program. The program has paid more than $135 million in rewards since its start in 1986.
The charges stem from cases by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Anyone with information on the reputed drug traffickers may call the ICE tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423).
The SNO: Salgueiro-Nevarez Organization
The Salgueiro brothers are allegedly the leaders of what federal prosecutors are calling the Salgueiro-Nevarez Organization, or the SNO.
Mexican authorities have identified the group as the Gente Nueva, meaning the New People. The family-run faction of the Sinaloa cartel allegedly is run by “El Flaco” Salgueiro with his brothers and nephews.
Mexican military authorities have alleged “El Flaco” and “El Che” began their criminal careers in the mid-1990s, taking control marijuana production in the Sierra de Chihuahua.
The Salgueiros are accused of operating opium poppy and marijuana fields in the southern part of the state of Chihuahua.
The Salgueiro organization was suspected of smuggling up to 15 tons of marijuana and 2 tons of cocaine into the United States every month, the Mexican military said at the time of “El Flaco” Salgueiro’s arrest in 2011.
After the capture of “El Flaco,” Jose “El Che” Salgueiro allegedly took command of the family drug business.
In addition to smuggling drugs, Mexican authorities alleged the organization also was involved in abductions and killings, retail drug sales and the extortion of businesses, including miners in the Hidalgo del Parral region of the state.
In 2012, the Mexican army arrested “El Che” Salgueiro in Hidalgo del Parral and arrested Heriberto Salgueiro in 2015. It is unclear if either is still in custody in Mexico.
In December 2019, “El Flaco” Salgueiro was extradited to the U.S. from Mexico and was held at the El Paso County Jail for a little over a month before he was moved to another location. His case is pending in federal court.
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