The United States government is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Carlos Andrés Rivera Varela, a.k.a. ‘La Firma,’ an alleged high-ranking leader of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación or CJNG.
CJNG was designated a foreign terrorist organization by President Donald Trump’s administration. The cartel poisons American communities with illicit fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. It is one of the most violent and dangerous narco-terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere. “They are responsible for the murder of hundreds of thousands, including American citizens,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Michael C. Gonzales.
Rivera Varela and others allegedly directed an international complex fraud scheme targeting Americans who own timeshare properties in Mexico. Over the past decade, this operation allegedly laundered hundreds of millions in alternative revenue to finance CJNG’s drug and weapons trade.
Additionally, Rivera Varela is responsible for importing multi-ton shipments of illicit drugs into the United States and coordinating training for CJNG’s leadership. He is also an alleged leader of elite sicario hitmen units responsible for extreme violence and high-profile assassinations with access to military-grade weaponry.
On January 11, 2024, Rivera Varela was charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine for importation into the United States and use, carry, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
On October 28, 2025, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Rivera Varela in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York after he was charged with money laundering; and providing material support, attempting to provide material support, and conspiracy to provide material support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Rivera Varela was born in Colombia on June 19, 1986, and also uses the aliases “El Colombiano,” “More,” and “Morro”. He is a citizen of both Colombia and Mexico. He is 5’10” and weighs 185 lbs. His hair and eyes are brown.
The reward was announced by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP).
If you have information, please contact the FBI by phone at 1-800-CALL-FBI or 212-384-1778 (WhatsApp), or online at tips.fbi.gov. If you are located outside of the United States, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. All identities are kept strictly confidential.