The United States government on Tuesday launched a manhunt for Sinaloa Cartel leader, Juan José Ponce Félix, aka “Jesús Alexandro Sanchez Félix” and “El Ruso.”
The Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs declared Juan José Ponce Félix wanted for violating U.S. narcotics laws.
There is a reward offer of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction, according to State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott.
El Ruso has been indicted multiple times in the Central and Southern Districts of California on drug trafficking, firearms, racketeering, and money laundering charges.
The suspect, according to the DEA and FBI, is the founder and leader of Los Rusos, the primary armed wing of La Mayiza, a powerful faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.
La Mayiza has been linked to the production and trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine from northwest Mexico into America.
In DEA’s documentation, back in 2012, El Ruso worked for Zambada Garcia, during which he allegedly perpetrated kidnapping, torture, and murder at his ranch in Culiacán.
In the subsequent years, the Mexican national rose to become the leader of “Los Rusos” (The Russians), the armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel loyal to Zambada García.
El Ruso engaged in a supremacy battle with the Sinaloa Cartel faction “Los Chapitos” after its takeover by the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who was extradited to the U.S. in 2017.
In February this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
