Alleged Leader of Sinaloa Cartel Faction Indicted in Chicago on Terrorism, Drug Trafficking, and Firearm Charges

A federal grand jury has indicted an alleged leader of a violent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico on terrorism, drug, and firearm charges, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.

According to the superseding indictment returned yesterday in the Northern District of Illinois, Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe, 50, of Sinaloa, Mexico, also known as El Musico, directed the importation of large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs - at times in shipments of hundreds or thousands of kilograms - into the United States on behalf of the Beltran Leyva faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

"As alleged, Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe led a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel that flooded the United States with fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin and used murder and intimidation to protect its profits," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "The Sinaloa Cartel has been designated a foreign terrorist organization because of the kinds of crimes announced today. This indictment further demonstrates that the Criminal Division will use every tool at its disposal to target cartel leaders, including by holding them accountable for acts of terrorism against our country."

"Today's narcoterrorism indictment of El Musico sends a powerful message that this Administration is going to aggressively pursue transnational criminal organizations and hold their highest-ranking members and associates accountable for poisoning the American public with illegal and harmful drugs," said U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros for the Northern District of Illinois. "The Chicago U.S. Attorney's Office has a proud history going back many decades of prosecuting some of the nation's biggest and most significant narcotrafficking cartel cases. Building on that tradition, under my leadership, our office will continue to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of violent drug cartels, several of which, including the Sinaloa Cartel, have very deservedly been designated as foreign terrorist organizations. Working closely with other prosecutors and law enforcement partners across the United States, our goal remains unchanged: to disrupt and dismantle the Sinaloa Cartel's drug empire and bring its leaders to justice."

"From narcocorridos to narcoterrorist. El Musico famously writes his own lyrics, but his next one will be written from the Bureau of Prisons," said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California. "As El Musico once boasted, 'La vida es curiosa, hoy soy poderoso,' but soon his 'Rancho Querido' will be nothing but a distant memory."

"This indictment sends a clear and uncompromising message: cartel leaders who flood our streets with fentanyl and arm their networks with machine guns and grenades are not just drug traffickers - they are terrorists," said DEA Administrator Terrance Cole. "Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe and his faction turned cartel violence into a campaign of terror, targeting police, military, and civilians alike. DEA remains relentless in our pursuit of these narco-terrorists, and we will not stop until the Sinaloa Cartel - and every organization like it - is dismantled, its leaders brought to justice, and American families protected."

"The indictment of El Musico and the dismantlement of the leadership structure of these foreign terrorist organizations are direct results of the unwavering commitment of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and our law enforcement partners to protect the United States," said Special Agent in Charge Shawn Gibson of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations San Diego. "We remain resolute in our mission to bring all members of these criminal cartels to justice, regardless of where they attempt to evade accountability."

"As a leader of a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, Gastelum Iribe allegedly directed the importation of cocaine, heroine, fentanyl, and other lethal drugs into the United States and oversaw atrocious acts of violence, including kidnappings and murders, in Mexico," said Special Agent in Charge Reid Davis of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal Division. "The superseding indictment against him is the result of years of collaboration among multiple federal agencies and judicial districts. The FBI and our partners will continue to work toward dismantling the Sinaloa Cartel and bringing its violent leaders - including El Musico - to justice."

After the arrest or death of the faction's original leaders, Gastelum Iribe assumed a leadership role and conspired with associates to distribute drugs nationwide. including in the Chicago area, using cars, trucks, rail cars, and other interstate carriers. To protect the cartel's operations, Gastelum Iribe allegedly ordered and carried out violent attacks against rivals, military personnel, and law enforcement, including ordering the murder of a Mexican police officer and two others. Under Gastelum Iribe's leadership, the faction armed its members with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, explosives, and other weapons, while also engaging in kidnappings, assaults, and bribery of corrupt public officials.

Gastelum Iribe is charged with terrorism, drug trafficking, and firearm offenses. The terrorism charges, which accuse Gastelum Iribe of engaging in narcoterrorism and providing material support and resources to the Sinaloa Cartel, is a result of President Trump's Executive Order 14157 designating the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and the State Department's subsequent designation of the same in February of this year.

If convicted, Gastelum Iribe faces a mandatory penalty of life in prison. He is not in custody and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The indictment is the result of a collaboration between prosecutors in the Criminal Division's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, the Northern District of Illinois, and Southern District of California, as well as law enforcement partners from Homeland Security Investigations, FBI, and DEA.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's OCDETF and Project Safe Neighborhoods.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.