Pedro Inzunza Noriega, a cartel operative wanted by U.S. authorities on narcoterrorism charges, was arrested in Culiacán, Sinaloa, on Wednesday during a special operation carried out by Mexico’s National Guard, the Navy and the Army. 

Inzunza, 62 and known as “El Señor de la Silla” (“The Lord of the Chair”) and “Sagitario,” is accused of running a drug production and trafficking network, primarily dealing in fentanyl, with a direct impact on the U.S. market. 

Allegedly members of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, Inzunza and his son, Pedro Inzunza Coronel, alias “El Pichón,” were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in May 2025. Inzunza Coronel was killed in a clash with the Mexican military on Nov. 30, 2025.

The newspaper El País reported that the Inzunzas were among the first suspects to be charged with narcoterrorism following U.S. President Donald Trump’s designation of several Mexican drug cartels as terrorists in February 2025. 

“An indictment unsealed [on May 13, 2025] is the first in the nation to charge alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel with narco-terrorism and material support of terrorism in connection with trafficking massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin into the United States,” a DOJ statement read.

The Beltrán Leyva Cartel is considered a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, which is among the criminal organizations designated as terrorist groups by the Trump administration. 

The arrest of Inzunza Noriega came during a joint operation in the Guadalupe neighborhood of the Sinaloa state capital, Culiacán, which was carried out without any reported clashes. Three other people were arrested along with Inzunza, and weapons and drugs were seized.

The four detainees have been transferred to Mexico City where they have been placed at the disposal of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime.

Inzunza is believed to be second in command of the Beltrán Leyva group, behind Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, alias “El Chapo Isidro,” who took over after cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was kidnapped and flown to the U.S. in July 2024. Meza was also named in the May 2025 indictment.

Since Zambada’s removal, the rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel have engaged in a civil war that has resulted in more than 1,800 murders and approximately 800 disappearances.

The U.S. indictment was based on a December 2024 operation in which 1,500 kilograms of fentanyl was seized by Mexican marines at properties linked to the Inzunza family in Sinaloa. It was considered one of the largest seizures of the drug ever recorded worldwide.

With reports from El País, El Universal, N+ and Infobae