U.S. authorities have filed charges of narcoterrorism and providing material support to terrorism against Carlos Páez Pereda, alias Carlitos or Carlitos Rugrats, identified as the alleged leader of the Los Rugrats cell, linked to the Los Mayos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, the Department of Justice reported.
The 30-year-old defendant, who remains at large, faces seven federal charges with penalties ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California stated that Páez Pereda heads a network that manufactures and traffics fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine for the El Mayo Zambada faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. Furthermore, the Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a press release that the cartel “reinforces the criminal group’s operations in Sinaloa and Tijuana through murders, kidnappings, and other violent acts, using a group of armed hitmen,” and manages part of the drug trafficking along that route, “which ultimately facilitates the importation of these drugs into the United States and their distribution in the Southern District of California and elsewhere.”
[The DOJ] “Over the past decade, Paez imported tens of thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine into the United States and laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in drug money,” the DOJ stated.
The indictment alleges that the accused also provided fighters, weapons, logistical resources, and financing to Los Mayos during their conflict with the Los Chapitos faction.
“The Rugrats have fueled brutal violence in Mexico that spills into the United States, along with a relentless flow of deadly drugs into our communities,” said Mark Remily, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Diego office.
Court documents include photos of weapons, drug shipments, and money allegedly linked to the defendant, which were reportedly taken from his social media accounts.
The indictment was issued pursuant to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Executive Order designating the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in January. 2025, the DOJ specified. In September of that year, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department designated him as “one of the top drug traffickers.”
Source: jornada
