US officials today indicted two alleged leaders of Mexican drug cartels, Pedro Inzunce Noriega and his son, Pedro Inzunce Coronel, on charges of narco-terrorism.
They were key leaders of the Beltran Leiva organization, one of a number of criminal groups that were once part of the powerful Sinaloa cartel but have since split off and are now fighting for territory and power, often sparking deadly violence across large swaths of Mexico.
The father and son are also charged with providing material support to terrorism by smuggling large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin into the United States, the San Diego District Attorney's Office said. Five other high-ranking members have been charged with drug trafficking and money laundering.
They oversaw "one of the largest and most sophisticated fentanyl production networks in the world," it said. The group, according to the indictment, carried out kidnappings, torture and murders.
The indictment comes after the Trump administration in February designated the Sinaloa Cartel and seven other Latin American criminal organizations as "foreign terrorist organizations" in an effort to pressure cartels operating in the United States and anyone who helps them.
The designation "foreign terrorist organization" is unusual because it is usually reserved for groups like Al Qaeda or the Islamic State that use violence for political purposes, rather than criminal groups like Latin American cartels.
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