Key facts: Iván Valerio Sainz Salazar ('Mantecas') was arrested in Badiraguato, Sinaloa, on Jan. 19, 2026. A newly unsealed U.S. indictment charges him with conspiring to manufacture and traffic fentanyl for the Sinaloa Cartel and with weapons offenses.
Prosecutors allege he produced millions of fentanyl pills for the Chapitos between 2022 and 2025; narcotics counts carry mandatory minimums of 10 years, and certain weapons counts carry mandatory minimums up to 30 years.
An alleged senior fentanyl manufacturer for the Sinaloa Cartel, Iván Valerio Sainz Salazar (known as 'Mantecas'), was arrested in Badiraguato, Sinaloa, on Jan. 19, 2026, and has been charged in a newly unsealed U.S. federal indictment, authorities said.
Mexican officials said the arrest followed a coordinated operation by the National Guard, the Mexican Army and the Air Force. Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection, Omar H. Garcia Harfuch, said Sainz Salazar was detained along with seven alleged associates, firearms, vehicles and a synthetic drug production center.
'In an operation carried out by the National Guard, the Mexican Army and Air Force, authorities detained Iván Valerio 'N,' alias 'Mantecas,' leader of a faction linked to the Beltrán Leyva organization. He was arrested along with 7 members of his group, as well as firearms, vehicles and a synthetic drug production center. The investigation is ongoing,' Garcia Harfuch wrote on X.
The U.S. Department of Justice alleges Sainz Salazar conspired to manufacture fentanyl for the Sinaloa Cartel and traffic it into the United States. Prosecutors say he acted as a key producer for a Cartel faction known as the Chapitos between roughly 2022 and 2025, helping to produce millions of fentanyl pills and operating protected drug laboratories.
Sainz Salazar faces counts including conspiracy to import fentanyl and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in the United States—each carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison. He also is charged with using and possessing machine guns and destructive devices in connection with the alleged conspiracy; one weapons count carries a mandatory minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life.
Federal prosecutors say the Sinaloa Cartel remains a principal source of illicit fentanyl entering the United States, driving record overdose deaths. Investigators describe the Chapitos—sons of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán—as having expanded production and distribution networks that rely on armed enforcers and, at times, military-grade weapons to protect labs and trafficking routes.
Recent related prosecutions include Joaquín Guzmán López and Ovidio Guzmán López, both of whom have faced U.S. charges related to drug trafficking. El Chapo remains in a U.S. maximum-security prison serving life without parole.
Sainz Salazar's arrest and the unsealed indictment mark the next steps in a cross-border investigation; U.S. authorities will pursue prosecutions while Mexican investigators continue to examine the seized facilities and the broader network.
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