René Arzate-Garcia, a leader in the powerful Sinaloa cartel and the alleged cartel boss of the Tijuana plaza, is now facing charges of narco-terrorism and material support of terrorism, federal officials announced in San Diego on Thursday.
There is a new $5-million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the 42-year-old alleged trafficker, known as “La Rana” or “The Frog.” Federal officials allege that Arzate-Garcia, along with his brother Alfonso Arzate-Garcia, have controlled the Tijuana corridor for the Sinaloa cartel and are responsible for drugs, and violence, across both sides of the border. The cartel leaders are also suspected of maintaining ties to gangs on both sides of the border.
The brothers’ whereabouts are unknown, according to authorities.
The indictment, announced Thursday, is the latest in the Trump administration’s targeting of Mexican drug cartels, and efforts to charge leaders of the violent organizations as narco-terrorists.
The new indictment supersedes one in 2014 against Arzate-Garcia and is part of an aggressive approach to targeting kingpins and other cartel leaders who continue to move drugs across the border, said Adam Gordon, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California.
“When I told them they were no longer hunters, they were the hunted, it wasn’t a threat. It was certainty,” Gordon said.
Arzate-Garcia’s brother, Alfonso Arzate-Garcia, also known as “Aquiles,” also has a $5-million bounty for his arrest and conviction.
In January 2025, the White House announced that several Mexican cartels were being designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
The latest charges were announced days after Mexican soldiers killed another drug kingpin, known as “El Mencho.”
The death of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, sparked violent attacks over the weekend across 20 of Mexico’s 32 states, illustrating how warring drug gangs could spark violence and uncertainty in the country.
But in a news conference Thursday, Gordon, along with leaders at the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Internal Revenue Service, and Homeland Security Investigations, touted the effect of the new indictment and recent arrests of cartel leaders.
“Less than 300 days ago, these cartel kingpins were free and unafraid,” Gordon said. “Now they sit in federal custody.”
Gordon pointed to arrests such as that of Pedro Inzunza Noriega, also known as “Sagitario,” who had been detained by Mexican forces this year.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the detention of Inzunza Noriego on Jan. 2 on a social media post. Mexican media had reported that the drug trafficker, also known as “El de la Silla,” a reference to his use of a wheelchair, was captured in Culiacan. He was later transferred to U.S. custody.
In May 2025, Inzunza Noriega became the first person to be indictedon narco-terrorism charges by federal prosecutors.
During the news conference, Gordon also seemed to refer to the death of El Mencho and the recent drastic changes Mexican cartels are facing as the Trump administration pressures Mexico to take stronger action against them.
“Recent reports about cartel leadership in Mexico underscores a simple truth: Criminal organizations based on fear and violence are unstable,” Gordon said.
As leaders of the Tijuana plaza, the Arzate-Garcia brothers are known to control the flow of drugs between Mexico and the United States in the Tijuana area, Gordon said.
The organization, he said, uses paramilitary fighters, military-grade weapons including armed drones and grenade launchers, to maintain their hold on Baja California and Mazatlan.
La Rana is also believed to be a key player in what has become a violent conflict between two known factions fighting for territory and control within the Sinaloa cartel, known as Los Chapitos and Mayitos.
Arzate-Garcia has provided weapons and support and engaged in violent confrontations against Los Chapitos, Gordon said. But the brothers have also taken advantage of the infighting to seize territory and control of areas.
The Sinaloa cartel’s violence is also believed to have crossed over to the U.S., as the cartel has enlisted gangs inside the country to conduct killings, said TJ Holland, acting special agent in charge at the FBI’s San Diego office.
“These cartels are sophisticated, multilayered organizations,” Holland said.
Federal officials said the new indictment would enable authorities to go after the cartel leader.
“His days as a plaza boss for Baja California, Tijuana, Southern California, money laundering, and providing material support to a terrorist organization are numbered,” said James Nunnallee, special agent in charge of the DEA’s San Diego division. “No cartel boss is untouchable.”
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