Sinaloa cartel boss charged with drug smuggling sons of El Chapo

A high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel lieutenant who allegedly conspired with El Chapo's sons to smuggle fentanyl and cocaine into the United States has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Chicago on drug trafficking charges.

Jose Angel Canobbio Inzunza, 44, is said to have served as an adviser and head of security for El Chapo's son Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and his three brothers.

According to the indictment, Canobbio Inzunza became involved in the criminal underworld with the Guzman faction of the cartel in 2002.

Previously at the helm was the notorious drug lord Joaquin Guzman Loera, alias El Chapo, who is serving a life sentence at ADX Florence in Colorado.

Supposedly, after his arrest, his sons took over leadership of a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.

Canobbio Inzunza is alleged to have conspired with the brothers known as “Chapitos” to produce cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine in Mexico and smuggle the drugs into the United States.

Canobbio Inzunza is charged with drug conspiracy, a crime punishable by life in federal prison.

Authorities believe he is currently in Mexico, where he is wanted on a US arrest warrant.

According to the indictment, Canobbio Inzunza is said to have financed and directed the armed security group “Los Chimales”.

Under Inzunza's leadership, the group reportedly engaged in armed clashes and provided security for the Guzman faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are investigating the case and the investigation is ongoing.

Newsweek has emailed the Department of Justice (DOJ) for comment.

The Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful and notorious drug trafficking organizations, is one of the driving forces behind the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.

This follows the imprisonment of the son of a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel after a police raid discovered 42,000 fentanyl pills in an apartment.

Brian Jesus Zazueta, 23, the son of Adolfo Zazueta-Bueno, a key figure in the Sinaloa Cartel, was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years and four months in federal prison for drug trafficking. He will also have to serve a five-year probation sentence upon his release.

According to court documents, Zazueta served as a middle manager for a drug trafficking organization operating out of Mexico that was responsible for distributing drugs in Spokane and Eastern Washington.

The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the largest and most influential drug trafficking organizations in the world. The cartel, based in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, has a notorious history and played a significant role in the global drug trade, particularly cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana.

The Sinaloa Cartel's roots date back to the 1980s and 1990s, when the drug trade in Mexico was dominated by a few large groups such as the Guadalajara Cartel.

After the arrest of the leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, several factions split off, with one of these groups forming what would become the Sinaloa Cartel.

The cartel rose to prominence in the 1990s under the leadership of key figures such as “El Chapo”, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Héctor “El Güero” Palma.