A high-ranking affiliate of a violent Mexican drug cartel faces a lifetime in prison after a Chicago grand jury returned an indictment accusing him of manufacturing and distributing drugs like fentanyl and heroin, and importing them into the U.S.

The Department of Justice said 43-year-old Ceferino Espinoza Angulo has been charged with drug conspiracy and firearm offenses.

According to court documents, Angulo allegedly employed dozens of gunmen in Mexico to protect and support leaders of the Joaquin Guzmán Loera, or “El Chapo,” faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Some of the leaders the gunmen protected included Ivan Guzmán Salazar, Jesus Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, Ovidio Guzmán López and Joaquin Guzmán López, who are collectively known as “the Chapitos.”

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, left, and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of another infamous cartel leader, after they were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas, July 25, 2024. (U.S. Department of State via AP)

In 2023, federal prosecutors unsealed sprawling indictments against dozens of members of the cartel, including the brothers, in a fentanyl-trafficking investigation.

Zambada has claimed that Joaquin Guzmán López kidnapped him and flew him aboard a private plane into the U.S., where Joaquin Guzmán López surrendered to authorities.

The FBI alleges Zambada and Joaquin Guzmán López oversaw the trafficking of “tens of thousands of pounds of drugs into the United States, along with related violence.” Zambada is due in court in New York next week.

Ovidio Guzmán López is due in court Feb. 27. Joaquin Guzmán López’s next court date is March 19.

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.