Mexico kills $5 million fugitive wanted in San Diego

Jesús González Peñuelas, an alleged cartel cell leader with a $5 million federal bounty, was killed in a Mexican military operation in Sinaloa on Monday. Mexican Secretary of Security Omar García Harfuch announced the death on social media on Wednesday, confirming that two individuals were killed during the clash.

García Harfuch stated that Navy personnel were conducting an operation in a Sinaloa neighborhood when they came under attack from a criminal cell. The military returned fire, resulting in the deaths of González Peñuelas and one other person. Officials identified the suspect as an operator within the Guasave cartel, a group linked to the larger Sinaloa cartel.

U.S. authorities had indicted González Peñuelas in 2017 in San Diego and Colorado on drug trafficking charges. A May Department of the Treasury news release accused him of heading a longstanding organization that trafficked illicit drugs into the United States and laundered funds for the Sinaloa cartel. The Treasury sanctioned him through the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

According to the Treasury, González Peñuelas was responsible for producing and distributing methamphetamine and heroin to the U.S. market since 2007. He also acted as a major distributor of cocaine and fentanyl. The federal agency reported that he operated primarily in the Mexican state of Sinaloa while maintaining distribution cells in six U.S. states: California, Texas, Colorado, Washington, Utah, and Nevada.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego declined to comment on the killing on Wednesday. Court records show his 2017 San Diego indictment included charges of international conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. The reward for information leading to his arrest was capped at $5 million by the U.S. government.