Alleged Sinaloa Cartel fentanyl producer charged in newly unsealed US federal indictment

An alleged top Sinaloa Cartel fentanyl producer accused of supplying millions of deadly pills to the Chapitos was charged in a newly unsealed U.S. indictment after Mexican authorities arrested Ivan Valerio Sainz Salazar in Sinaloa, federal prosecutors said.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Thursday that Sainz Salazar, also known as “Mantecas,” is charged with fentanyl trafficking and weapons offenses tied to an alleged conspiracy to manufacture the drug for the Sinaloa Cartel and smuggle it into the U.S.

Mexican authorities arrested Sainz Salazar and several alleged associates in Badiraguato, Sinaloa, on Jan. 19, 2026, according to Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection, Omar H. Garcia Harfuch.

“In an operation carried out by the National Guard, the Mexican Army and Air Force, authorities detained Iván Valerio ‘N,’ alias ‘Mantecas,’ leader of a faction linked to the Beltrán Leyva organization,” Garcia Harfuch wrote on X. “He was arrested along with 7 members of his group, as well as firearms, vehicles and a synthetic drug production center. The investigation is ongoing.”

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According to the indictment, federal prosecutors claim the Sinaloa Cartel remains one of the primary drivers of fentanyl flowing into the U.S., fueling record overdose deaths nationwide. The synthetic opioid is far more potent than heroin and has devastated communities across the country.

Investigators allege the cartel faction known as the Chapitos – led by the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán – oversaw much of that operation, relying on armed enforcers to protect drug labs, trafficking routes and leadership, often using military-grade weapons.

Prosecutors claim Sainz Salazar served as a key fentanyl producer for the Chapitos from about 2022 through 2025, helping manufacture millions of pills, arranging drug transactions under armed protection and operating labs that later became central to the group’s fentanyl production.

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Sainz Salazar, a 40-year-old Mexican citizen, has been charged with conspiring to import fentanyl into the U.S. and conspiring to distribute it domestically – counts that each carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.

He is also charged with using and possessing machine guns and destructive devices in connection with the alleged drug conspiracy. One weapons count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of life, while another related conspiracy charge also carries a maximum sentence of life.

“As alleged, Sainz Salazar served as a major producer of the Sinaloa Cartel’s fentanyl shipments bound for the United States,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said.  “Fentanyl kills, and violent dealers in fentanyl must be taken off our streets.  Today’s charges target a major producer behind the Chapitos’ supply chain and underscore the commitment of the women and men of our Office to holding traffickers at all levels of the production and distribution chain accountable.”

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Joaquín Guzmán López, son of cartel boss “El Chapo,” pleaded guilty in a Chicago federal courtroom in December to drug-trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise charges.

Guzmán López, 39, is among the so-called Chapitos, the group of brothers who took over a major faction of the Sinaloa cartel after drug kingpin El Chapo’s 2019 conviction and life sentence.

Prosecutors say the brothers increased the production and distribution of narcotics, including fentanyl, and created a massive pipeline that funneled tens of thousands of kilograms of drugs into the U.S. each year, per reports.

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Guzmán López pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise after acknowledging his role in overseeing the transporting of drugs to the U.S., mostly through underground tunnels.

Guzmán López’s attorney said the plea deal allows his client to avoid an automatic life sentence, according to the Associated Press.

Guzmán López was arrested in July 2024 alongside longtime cartel figure Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada after landing on a private jet in Texas.

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The plea followed a similar agreement reached months earlier by his brother, Ovidio Guzmán López, on trafficking and money-laundering charges.

El Chapo himself remains in a maximum-security U.S. prison serving life without parole for running a multibillion-dollar trafficking empire. Prosecutors say his son stepped into his role.