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In a significant development, a prominent figure allegedly involved with the Sinaloa Cartel’s fentanyl operations has been charged in the United States, following his arrest in Sinaloa, Mexico. Ivan Valerio Sainz Salazar, accused of producing millions of lethal pills for the Chapitos faction, faces serious charges in a newly revealed US indictment, federal prosecutors announced.
The Department of Justice revealed on Thursday that Sainz Salazar, known by the alias “Mantecas,” is facing charges related to fentanyl trafficking and weapons offenses. These charges stem from his suspected role in a conspiracy to manufacture and smuggle the potent drug into the United States, aligned with the notorious Sinaloa Cartel.
Authorities in Mexico detained Sainz Salazar, along with several alleged accomplices, on January 19, 2026, in Badiraguato, Sinaloa. This operation was confirmed by Omar H. Garcia Harfuch, Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection.
“Through a coordinated effort involving the National Guard, Mexican Army, and Air Force, we arrested Iván Valerio ‘N,’ also known as ‘Mantecas,’ who leads a faction associated with the Beltrán Leyva organization,” Garcia Harfuch announced on social media platform X. “The operation also resulted in the arrest of seven group members, the seizure of firearms, vehicles, and a synthetic drug production facility. Our investigation is ongoing.”
The indictment sheds light on the Sinaloa Cartel’s significant role as a primary source of fentanyl entering the United States, a major contributor to the surge in overdose deaths across the nation. The synthetic opioid is notably more potent than heroin, exacerbating the public health crisis affecting communities nationwide.
Investigators allege the cartel faction known as the Chapitos – led by the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán – oversaw much of that operation, relying on armed enforcers to protect drug labs, trafficking routes and leadership, often using military-grade weapons.
Prosecutors claim Sainz Salazar served as a key fentanyl producer for the Chapitos from about 2022 through 2025, helping manufacture millions of pills, arranging drug transactions under armed protection and operating labs that later became central to the group’s fentanyl production.
Sainz Salazar, a 40-year-old Mexican citizen, has been charged with conspiring to import fentanyl into the US and conspiring to distribute it domestically – counts that each carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.
He is also charged with using and possessing machine guns and destructive devices in connection with the alleged drug conspiracy.
One weapons count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of life, while another related conspiracy charge also carries a maximum sentence of life.
“As alleged, Sainz Salazar served as a major producer of the Sinaloa Cartel’s fentanyl shipments bound for the United States,” US Attorney Jay Clayton said. “Fentanyl kills, and violent dealers in fentanyl must be taken off our streets. Today’s charges target a major producer behind the Chapitos’ supply chain and underscore the commitment of the women and men of our Office to holding traffickers at all levels of the production and distribution chain accountable.”
Joaquín Guzmán López, son of cartel boss “El Chapo,” pleaded guilty in a Chicago federal courtroom in December to drug-trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise charges.
Guzmán López, 39, is among the so-called Chapitos, the group of brothers who took over a major faction of the Sinaloa cartel after drug kingpin El Chapo’s 2019 conviction and life sentence.
Prosecutors say the brothers increased the production and distribution of narcotics, including fentanyl, and created a massive pipeline that funneled tens of thousands of kilograms of drugs into the US each year, per reports.
Guzmán López pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise after acknowledging his role in overseeing the transporting of drugs to the US, mostly through underground tunnels.
Guzmán López’s attorney said the plea deal allows his client to avoid an automatic life sentence, according to the Associated Press.
Guzmán López was arrested in July 2024 alongside longtime cartel figure Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada after landing on a private jet in Texas.
The plea followed a similar agreement reached months earlier by his brother, Ovidio Guzmán López, on trafficking and money-laundering charges.
El Chapo himself remains in a maximum-security US prison serving life without parole for running a multibillion-dollar trafficking empire. Prosecutors say his son stepped into his role.