Mica for cartelinsider.com
The González Peñuelas family has been identified by US authorities for trafficking different types of drugs to the United States, including fentanyl, a situation that “fuels the epidemic” of synthetic opioids in that country.
On January 17, the United States Department of State reiterated the offer of a reward of up to 5 million dollars for useful information leading to the arrest of Jesús González Peñuelas, aka Chuy González, leader of an “independent organization for distribution and production of methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin, and cocaine.”
According to US authorities, Chuy González has been the leader of this cartel since 2007, an organization where his family members also operate.
Although this criminal structure has been considered the main distributor of heroin for over a decade in the western US, just when Colorado saw an increase in overdose deaths from this drug, US authorities point to the Gonzalez Peñuelas family for trafficking fentanyl, making them direct rivals of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s sons from the Sinaloa Cartel, who were accused of being the main traffickers of the synthetic opioid to the United States.
On May 12, 2021, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), of the US Treasury Department, had reported that the González Peñuelas family is responsible for transporting and selling the drug known on the streets as M-30, which are essentially fentanyl pills disguised as colored 30 mg oxycodone pills, although they can also resemble hydrocodone, alprazolam, Adderall, among others.
This type of tablets are usually blue in color and one side has the letter “M” engraved on it, while the other has the number “30”, all with the intention of making the substance go unnoticed by authorities. However, this is not the only presentation, as they have also been identified by names such as K9, 215, and v48.
This way of trafficking fentanyl could be one of the main differences in doing business with Los Chapitos, who announced last year through narcomantas that they were leaving the synthetic opioid business due to pressure and harassment from the US government.
The González Peñuelas family primarily operates in northern Sinaloa, where other rival groups of Los Chapitos also operate, such as Isidro Meza Flores, also known as El Chapo Isidro, current leader of Los Beltrán Leyva who has its base of operations in Guasave, Sinaloa; as well as Rafael Caro Quintero, former leader and founder of the Caborca Cartel that operates in Sonora.
OFAC also located associates of Chuy González, such as his brothers Ignacio and Wilfrido González Peñuelas, who would be second-in-command of the organization.
“Ignacio González serves as the main lieutenant of the organization by overseeing the security of narcotics shipments. In 2018, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office for the District of Colorado charged him with multiple drug trafficking crimes,” the Treasury Department statement details.
Meanwhile, Wilfrido is involved in the trafficking of heroin and opium “operating in storefronts” in Sonora and Sinaloa.
The North American authorities identified five other individuals linked to the González Peñuelas organization, as well as a company located in Guasave, Sinaloa, which would be managed by one of them. This is the construction company City Plaza, a variable capital corporation controlled by Efraín Mandívil Figueroa.
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Mica
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