The United States government has announced a reward of up to $5 million each for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of two senior figures of the Sinaloa Cartel, René Arzate-García, also known as “La Rana,” and his brother, Alfonso Arzate-García, alias “Aquiles.”
The reward offer is part of a joint manhunt coordinated by the San Diego Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
According to the DEA, the Arzate-García brothers have overseen the Tijuana Plaza on behalf of the cartel for approximately 15 years, allegedly maintaining control through violence, alliances, and influence that included political and law enforcement corruption. Authorities accuse them of playing key roles in trafficking fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the United States while sustaining cartel operations in Tijuana, Baja California.
In 2014, both men were separately indicted in the Southern District of California on drug trafficking charges and have remained fugitives since then.
On August 9, 2023, the brothers were sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control under Executive Order 14059 for their alleged involvement in the global illicit drug trade.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Justice has filed further charges against René Arzate-García, including narcoterrorism, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and international drug distribution conspiracy involving methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana, as well as money laundering.
The bounty, announced by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, follows a similar reward offer for another Sinaloa Cartel figure, Juan José Ponce Félix, also known as “El Ruso.”
The development comes months after the death of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). He was killed on February 22 following injuries sustained during a confrontation with Mexican special forces in Tapalpa, Jalisco.
At the time, the U.S. government had placed a $15 million reward on Oseguera Cervantes, classifying him as a top target of the DEA. His death reportedly sparked widespread unrest across more than 15 Mexican states, with coordinated attacks on businesses, vehicles, and security personnel.
Founded around 2009, the CJNG rose to prominence as one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal groups, rivaling the Sinaloa Cartel. Reports indicate that U.S. intelligence support contributed to the Mexican-led operation that resulted in Oseguera Cervantes’ death.
