Overview
- The State Department, working with the FBI and DEA, announced up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Juan José Ponce Félix.
- Authorities identify Ponce Félix as the founder and leader of Los Rusos, the main armed wing of La Mayiza within the Sinaloa Cartel.
- U.S. allegations say his faction manages production and trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana from northwest Mexico to the United States.
- Baja California’s state prosecutor said there is no active investigation against Ponce Félix in the state, though groups alleged to be linked to him, including those known as El Picudo and Los Picachos, have been arrested.
- Court records show multiple U.S. indictments over the past decade in California, with reporting tying his rise to control of the Mexicali corridor after 2013 and rivalry with the Chapitos faction.