Federal prosecutors in San Diego have charged the suspected chief executive and leader of a violent unit of the Sinaloa Cartel called “Los Rugrats” with terrorism, which provides material support for terrorism and drug trafficking.
An indictment unsealed Tuesday accuses Carlos Alberto Paez Pereda, 30, of manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine in the US to the Mayo Zambada group of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Paez, a resident of Laguna Colorada in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, is also accused of smuggling hundreds of millions of dollars in drug money and fueling violence in Mexico by supplying weapons and fighters to Los Mayos, which is at war with another group, the Sinaloa Cartel.
Authorities said Paez, whose name includes “Carlitos” and “Carlitos Rugrats,” appears to have named his group after the Nickelodeon animated series “Rugrats,” a show about a group of toddlers and their daily lives.
“You can’t arrest a cartoon character. But you can arrest a narcoterrorist,” US Atty. Adam Gordon said so in a written statement announcing the indictment.
Images from court documents of money allegedly linked to Carlos Paez Pereda.
(US Department of Justice)
It is the latest in a series of lawsuits filed since President Trump designated drug cartels and other transnational organizations such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua as terrorist organizations under an executive order issued last year.
The executive order is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle Mexican drug cartels including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Beltran Leyva Organization.
According to the latest indictment, federal prosecutors allege that Paez enforces the operation of the Sinaloa Cartel in Sinaloa and Tijuana using armed forces and hit men to commit murders, kidnappings and other acts of violence.
“Paez also controls and controls part of the Sinaloa Cartel’s transportation from Sinaloa to Tijuana, and the surrounding municipalities, resulting in the importation of these drugs into the United States,” the statement read.
Over the past 10 years, he is accused of importing tens of thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine into the US and receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in drug money, according to prosecutors.
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Paez as a drug kingpin in September 2025.
The gun is suspected to be linked to Carlos Paez Pereda.
(US Department of Justice)
“Today’s case underscores the FBI’s determination to dismantle the most violent elements of the Sinaloa Cartel,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily of the FBI’s San Diego office, one of several agencies investigating the case. “Los Rugrats has fueled brutal violence in Mexico that reaches into the United States and an unstoppable flow of deadly drugs into our communities. Together with our federal and state partners, we will continue to target corporate leaders wherever they operate to bring them to justice and protect the public.”
James Nunnallee, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Paez helped fuel the drug problem in the US and used violence to protect his criminal enterprise.
“As alleged in the case, his organization relies on killing, kidnapping and extortion in order to maintain power and ensure the continued supply of drugs that have destroyed families and communities throughout the country,” he said in a statement. “The DEA and our law enforcement partners remain relentless in our pursuit of those who profit from addiction and violence.”
Paez is wanted on a federal arrest warrant issued in March by a US District Court judge in San Diego.
He faces up to life in prison and millions in fines if convicted on all charges.
