The fentanyl kingpin wanted by the United States murdered by the Mexican military

A man wanted by the United States accused of trafficking large quantities of fentanyl and cocaine was killed Sunday by Mexican military personnel during an anti-drug operation, officials said.

Pedro Inzunza Coronel, alias “Pichón”, died during the operation in the northwestern state of Sinaloa.

Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s security secretary, confirmed Coronel’s death on social media.

“In an operation led by the Secretary of the Navy… two operators of this criminal cell were arrested and Pedro ‘N’ Pichón lost his life when attacking naval personnel,” said Harfuch.

In May, the US Department of Justice accused Coronelas well as his father, Pedro Inzunza Noriega, with narcoterrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering as leaders of a faction of a now defunct cartel known as the Beltrán Leyva Organization, a violent faction of the Sinaloa cartel.

The father and son trafficked tens of thousands of kilograms of fentanyl into the United States, the federal government alleged, and the Mexican government seized more than 1.65 tons of fentanyl from their holdings – the largest fentanyl seizure in the world. The Department of Justice released multiple images of fentanyl and cocaine seizures linked to the duo.

The US ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson, said in a post on

“These results reflect what our nations can achieve when they work together against those who pose a threat to our citizens,” Johnson wrote.

Since returning to power in January, President Donald Trump has demanded that Mexico increase its efforts in the fight against drug trafficking, threatening tariffs on Mexican exports if more is not done.

In August, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum insisted that there would be “there is no invasion of Mexico” following reports that Trump had ordered the US military to attack Latin American drug cartels.

That same month, Mexico sent 26 high-ranking figures of the cartel to the United States in an important agreement with the Trump administration. Among those handed over to U.S. custody was Abigael González Valencia, leader of “Los Cuinis,” a group closely aligned with the notorious cartel. Jalisco New Generationor CJNG. Another defendant, Roberto Salazar, was wanted in connection with the 2008 murder of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy.