from street dealers to cartel leaders.”
“This indictment reinforces the FBI’s unwavering commitment to hold accountable those who endanger our communities and traffic violence and drugs across our borders,” said Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Let this serve as a clear message: if you engage in cartel activity, we will pursue you and bring you to justice. Together with our law enforcement partners at every level, we remain fully committed to protecting the American people and stopping the flow of these dangerous drugs into our nation.”
According to court documents, Ceferino Espinoza Angulo, 43, employed dozens of gunmen in Mexico to protect and support the leadership of the Guzman faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, including Ivan Guzman-Salazar, Jesus Alfredo Guzman-Salazar, Ovidio Guzman-Lopez, and Joaquin Guzman-Lopez, collectively known as “the Chapitos.” Espinoza Angulo allegedly conspired to obtain fentanyl precursor chemicals and to manufacture, distribute, and import into the United States fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and ecstasy. Ceferino Espinoza also allegedly illegally possessed a machinegun in furtherance of his drug trafficking scheme.
The Chapitos are the sons of Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as “El Chapo,” who led the Sinaloa Cartel before being convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, and sentenced to life in prison. The Chapitos allegedly assumed their father’s role as leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel. The Chapitos have been charged with drug trafficking in other U.S. indictments.
Espinoza Angulo is charged with drug conspiracy and firearm offenses. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. Espinoza Angulo is believed to be residing in Mexico, and a U.S. warrant has been issued for his arrest.
The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Valuable assistance was provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, and the Portland, Oregon, Police Bureau, Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Interdiction Taskforce.
Trial Attorney Kirk Handrich of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Parthum and Andrew C. Erskine for the Northern District of Illinois, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Sutton for the Southern District of California prosecuted the case.
The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug trafficking organizations and other criminal networks that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local enforcement agencies.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.