Narcoterrorism charges unsealed against alleged Sinaloa cartel lieutenant operating in Tijuana

Caleb Lunetta, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Jul 8, 2026

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SAN DIEGO — An alleged high-ranking lieutenant of the Sinaloa cartel has been indicted in San Diego on suspicion of using murder, kidnapping and intimidation to import millions of dollars of drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Carlos Paez Pereda — known as “Carlitos” or “Carlitos Rugrats” — was indicted on March 27 on multiple counts, including narcoterrorism, providing material to support terrorism and engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, according to the indictment.

Pereda, 30, who is believed to live in Laguna Colorada in Sinaloa, Mexico, has not been arrested in connection with the allegations.

Prosecutors said Pereda oversees a wing of the Sinaloa Cartel called “Los Rugrats,” which carries out operations in Sinaloa and Tijuana, trafficking large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine into the U.S. from Mexico. Prosecutors said Pereda has empowered armed men to kill and intimidate people to achieve their means.

The Trump administration designated the Sinaloa cartel as a terrorist organization in February 2025.

“For years, Pereda allegedly fueled the drug crisis by trafficking deadly drugs into the United States while using violence, intimidation, and fear to protect his criminal enterprise,” said James Nunnallee, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s acting special agent in charge in San Dieog “As alleged in the indictment, his organization relied on murder, kidnapping, and armed enforcers to maintain power and ensure the continued flow of drugs that have devastated families and communities across our nation.”

Pereda was an enforcer for the trafficking operation while also controlling transportation of the cartel’s products from Sinaloa to Tijuana through various Mexican municipalities and eventually into the United States, prosecutors said.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated him a drug kingpin last year.

Officials said Pereda operates under the faction of the Sinaloa cartel run by Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, who co-founded the cartel with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Zambada was arrested in El Paso, Texas, in July 2024, and Guzman is serving a life sentence in prison in the U.S.

The “Los Mayos” faction of the cartel is in violent conflict for control with “Los Chapitos,” the group led by Guzman’s sons.

Federal officials said Tuesday they believe Pereda is a lieutenant of René Arzate, an alleged high-ranking member of the Sinaloa cartel who, for roughly 15 years, used violence and corruption to control key drug-trafficking routes from Baja California into San Diego, according to a related indictment unsealed earlier this year. Arzate also remains at large.

Federal prosecutors provided photos Tuesday taken from Pereda’s social media that appear to show stacks of drugs, cash and gold-plated handguns. One photo — with the caption “My 3 fav” — shows multiple semi-automatic rifles laid out on a couch.

Several of the charges filed against Pereda carry maximum penalties of life in prison if he is ever captured and prosecuted in the U.S.