By Chris Summers
U.S. authorities on Sept. 16 announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of Juan José Ponce Félix, the alleged leader of one of the Sinaloa cartel’s factions.
In February, the Trump administration designated the Sinaloa cartel a foreign terrorist organization, along with several other Mexican and Latin American organizations.
Ponce Félix, 43, is the leader of Los Rusos (The Russians), the armed wing of La Mayiza, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FBI. La Mayiza is one of the factions that emerged after the Sinaloa cartel split in 2024 following the arrest of Ismael Zambada García, also known as El Mayo.
The State Department said, “The cartel’s La Mayiza faction manages the production and trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine from northwest Mexico into the United States.”
The department added that Ponce Félix—who is also known as Jesús Alexandro Sanchez Félix and El Ruso (The Russian)—had been indicted several times in the Central and Southern Districts of California on racketeering, drug trafficking, firearms, and money laundering charges.
Brian M. Clark, a special agent in charge of the DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division, said, “Ponce Félix and his brigade of drug criminals have been terrorizing communities, both in Mexico and the United States, for far too long.”
Clark said La Mayiza “continues to unleash its poison into our communities and around the globe.”
“Nonetheless, our dedicated and skilled agents remain steadfast, working in tandem with our partners to ensure ‘El Ruso’ ends up behind bars,” Clark added. “The reward offer is a testament to our government’s resolve to bring him to justice. We hope anyone with information will pick up the phone and call the tip line.”
Linked to Kidnapping, Torture, Murder: DEA
The State Department said in a separate statement, “According to the DEA, in 2012, Ponce Félix worked for Zambada Garcia by leading a fleet of cartel soldiers who engaged in acts of kidnapping, hostage taking, torture, and murder in furtherance of the cartel’s interests at a ranch owned by Ponce Félix in Culiacán.”
Years later, “Ponce Félix became known as the leader of ‘Los Rusos,’ a group known as the armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel loyal to Zambada García,” according to the State Department.
“After the arrest and extradition of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán Loera, his sons began to take over his faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, known as ‘Los Chapitos.’ Ponce Félix then broke with Los Chapitos, resulting in violence between the two factions,” the State Department added.
The State Department also said Ponce Félix is involved in corruption, paying Mexican politicians, police officers, and senior military figures bribes in excess of $1 million per month to maintain his drug distribution network.
Arrests, Seizures
The reward for the arrest of Ponce Félix comes after the DEA conducted an operation between Aug. 25 and Aug. 29 against the Sinaloa cartel, which led to 617 arrests, the seizure of large quantities of fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, as well as more than $11 million in cash and 420 firearms.
On Aug. 25, Zambada Garcia, 77, pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court in Brooklyn, New York City.
Zambada Garcia, the longtime leader of the Sinaloa cartel, admitted to playing a role in a drug-trafficking operation that funneled large quantities of illicit substances, including cocaine and heroin, into the United States for years.
U.S. prosecutors said that the Sinaloa cartel became the largest drug-trafficking organization in the world under the leadership of Zambada Garcia and cofounder “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, who was jailed for life in New York in 2019.
In July 2024, Zambada Garcia and El Chapo’s son, Joaquin Guzmán Lopez, were arrested in El Paso, Texas.
A deadly feud broke out in the summer of 2024 between a faction loyal to Zambada Garcia and Los Chapitos, who are aligned with El Chapo’s sons.
The two factions attacked each other in the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan, with teams of gunmen—or sicarios—firing at each other and at the security forces.
In September 2024, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador blamed the United States for an upsurge in violence caused by the internecine feud, which killed at least 30 people.
