Americas

Going After Drug Traffickers

U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows some of over 165 pounds (75 kilograms) of suspected methamphetamine seized after smugglers tried to float it across the border from Nogales, Mexico. (File)

To stem the tide of drugs entering the United States, the United States has committed to a whole-of-government effort to reduce U.S. demand and combat drug trafficking and transnational organized crime globally and in Mexico.

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Going After Drug Traffickers

Fentanyl, trafficked over the U.S. southern border, was responsible for more than 63 percent of the 96,779 drug overdose deaths in the United States between March 2020 and 2021. To stem the tide of drugs entering the United States, the United States has committed to a whole-of-government effort to reduce U.S. demand and combat drug trafficking and transnational organized crime globally and in Mexico.

Recently, the State Department announced reward offers of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of four drug traffickers operating in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sinaloa. Aureliano Guzman-Loera, the brother of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin Guzman-Loera, and brothers Ruperto Salgueiro-Nevarez, Jose Salgueiro-Nevarez, and Heriberto Salgueiro-Nevarez all operate under the umbrella of the Sinaloa Cartel federation.

Aureliano Guzman-Loera and the Salgueiro-Nevarez brothers are charged for violation of U.S. drug laws, including international conspiracies to distribute marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl.

This reward offer complements the Department of Justice’s announcement of indictments charging Aureliano Guzman-Loera and the three Salgueiro-Nevarez brothers for violating international narcotics trafficking laws.

This reward is offered under the Department of State’s Narcotics Rewards Program. More than 75 transnational criminals and major narcotics traffickers have been brought to justice under the Narcotics Rewards Program and the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program since 1986. The Department has paid more than $135 million in rewards for information leading to apprehensions.

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs manages the Narcotics Rewards Program in close coordination with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and other U.S. government agencies. These actions demonstrate the Department’s commitment to supporting law enforcement efforts to bring transnational criminals to justice.