$26M Bounties on Cartel Leaders

The Trump administration has designated a Mexican drug cartel as a foreign terrorist organization and placed $26 million bounties on its leaders’ heads.

Story Highlights

DOJ charges five Carteles Unidos leaders with $26 million in total rewards offered
Top cartel leader “El Abuelo” has $10 million bounty – highest ever for Mexican criminal
Cartel falsely poses as “self-defense” group while trafficking deadly drugs into America
Treasury sanctions freeze all U.S. assets and block financial transactions
Mexico extradites 26 cartel members in coordinated crackdown with Trump administration

Trump Administration Targets Cartel Terror Network

The Department of Justice unsealed federal indictments against five senior leaders of Carteles Unidos on August 14, 2025, accompanied by unprecedented reward offers totaling $26 million. Juan Jose Farias Alvarez, known as “El Abuelo,” faces the largest bounty at $10 million – reflecting the administration’s recognition that these aren’t ordinary criminals but terrorists poisoning American communities. This coordinated action demonstrates Trump’s commitment to treating the border crisis and drug trafficking with the seriousness it deserves.

U.S. Government Offers $26 Million in Rewards for Information on Mexican Terrorist Cartel Leaders https://t.co/daOEsvo3El via @BreitbartNews

— Tuck's News (@tucksnews) August 14, 2025

Cartel’s Deceptive Self-Defense Claims Exposed

Carteles Unidos has manipulated public perception by falsely presenting itself as a community self-defense organization while simultaneously operating one of Mexico’s most prolific methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking networks. This deception allowed the cartel to gain local support in Michoacán while flooding American streets with deadly drugs. The administration’s designation as a foreign terrorist organization cuts through this propaganda, recognizing the group’s true nature as an enemy of American families and communities.

Watch: 26 cartel members expedited to the U.S. from Mexico

Comprehensive Financial and Legal Assault

Treasury Department sanctions target four key cartel figures including Alfonso Fernandez Magallon, who recruits ex-military personnel for the organization’s violent operations. Luis Enrique Barragan Chavez oversees extortion rackets that terrorize legitimate businesses, while Edgar Orozco Cabadas manages hitmen responsible for countless murders. These sanctions freeze all U.S. assets and prohibit American citizens from conducting business with these terrorists, demonstrating how financial warfare complements traditional law enforcement.

The coordinated approach includes Mexico’s extradition of 26 cartel members to face American justice, showing renewed cooperation under strong U.S. leadership. This represents exactly the kind of decisive action needed to protect American communities from foreign criminal organizations that previous administrations treated as merely a law enforcement issue rather than the national security threat they represent.

Strategic Victory Against Border Security Threats

This operation targets Carteles Unidos’ base in Michoacán, a strategic region for drug production and trafficking routes that funnel poison directly into American communities. The cartel’s control over avocado farms and other legitimate industries demonstrates how criminal organizations exploit weak border enforcement to establish economic footholds. By designating them as terrorists and offering substantial rewards, the administration signals that protecting American families from foreign drug trafficking networks remains a top priority.

The $26 million reward program encourages information leading to arrests and convictions, utilizing financial incentives to dismantle networks that have operated with impunity for too long. This approach recognizes that defeating these organizations requires both aggressive prosecution and community cooperation to identify and eliminate threats to American security.