The DEA Plans to Increase the Reward for Information Leading to the Arrest of ‘El Chapo’s’ Adult Children 

The United States government, through its various security agencies, currently has multiple rewards in place—totaling over $211 million—for information leading to the capture of 34 leaders, commanders, and lieutenants from at least five Mexican drug cartels.

According to authorities consulted by MILENIO, plans are primarily underway to soon increase the reward amounts offered for “El Chapo’s” sons—who, unlike their two younger brothers, have so far evaded capture.

The announcement made last week regarding increased reward amounts for the top leadership of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) marks the latest move in a strategy of offering financial incentives; according to the authorities consulted, these amounts will continue to rise for key targets.

Although information regarding the actual amounts paid out remains classified, State Department sources confirm that results have been achieved, prompting the Trump administration to double down on this effort.

A review of the State Department’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program files shows that, as of August 6, active rewards exist for 34 individuals, all of whom are wanted for serious crimes or offenses linked to terrorism.

Of the total rewards offered, 18 are for members or associates of the Sinaloa Cartel; eight are for members of the CJNG; five are for individuals linked to the group known as Cárteles Unidos; two are for leaders of La Nueva Familia Michoacana; and one is for a leader of the group known as Los Mazatlecos.

Details regarding some of these rewards follow below, including the amounts and information on the fugitives, who are primarily sought by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Jalisco’s “Big Fish”

In financial terms, the highest rewards target four members of the CJNG. These are individuals for whom bounties had already been offered since 2023, but who—according to the DEA—have gained immense significance following the death of the group’s leader and founder, Nemesio Oseguera (“El Mencho”).

The largest reward in the entire program—$25 million—is offered for the capture of Juan Carlos Valencia González (alias “El Pelón”), El Mencho’s stepson and the alleged new supreme leader of the powerful cartel.

To put this in perspective, the bounty offered for El Pelón matches the amounts the United States once offered for figures such as Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and Nicolás Maduro.

Next, there are $15 million rewards for each of three members of the CJNG’s second tier of leadership: Audias Flores Silva (“El Jardinero”), Hugo Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytán (“Sapo”), and Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez (“Chorro”).

In addition to directing extensive drug trafficking operations involving methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl, the Department of Justice holds these individuals responsible for a wide range of criminal activities, including fuel theft, extortion, and fraud.

It is worth noting that the case of Flores Silva (“El Jardinero”) is unique; as U.S. officials themselves confirmed, he has already been arrested in Mexico by Mexican Navy personnel. However, they stated that the reward will remain in effect until he is effectively in custody within U.S. territory.

“Los Chapitos” and Other Leaders

For the past four years, the U.S. government has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the capture of Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar (alias “El Chapito”), the eldest son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel faction known as “La Chapiza.”

The same amount is offered for his brother, Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, second-in-command of the same cartel faction held responsible by the Department of Justice—among other things—for being the primary traffickers of fentanyl distributed throughout the United States.

The U.S. government is also offering $10 million for the capture of Juan José Farías Álvarez, alias “El Abuelo,” identified as the leader of the criminal organization known as Cárteles Unidos. This criminal group—also designated as a terrorist organization by the administration of President Donald Trump—emerged from the merger of various criminal groups and self-defense movements.

Last week, it was also announced that the reward amount had been raised to $10 million for three additional CJNG leaders: Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, alias “Tripa”; Julio César Montero Pinzón, alias “El Tarjetas”; and Carlos Andrés Rivera Varela, alias “La Firma.” All three already face felony charges in federal courts in Washington and New York.

‘El Chapo’ Isidro and La Familia

At the next tier, the U.S. government maintains active $5 million rewards for several high-level drug traffickers, most notably Fausto Isidro Meza Flores—alias “Chapo Isidro”—the leader of his own criminal group known as Los Mazatlecos.

The criminal significance attributed to Meza Flores is such that the FBI has included him on its list of the top 10 most wanted international fugitives.

“Known as ‘El Chapo Isidro,’ he is accused of flooding the United States with fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and other lethal drugs over the past 20 years—first as an independent drug trafficker and later as the leader of the Meza-Flores cartel,” stated Brian Driscoll, the then-Acting Director of the FBI, in February 2025. The United States is also offering five million dollars for each of the brothers José Alfredo and Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga—known by the aliases “El Fresa” and “El Pez”—who lead the criminal organization known as La Nueva Familia Michoacana. Authorities consider these individuals dangerous and extremely violent.

Rewards are also currently being offered for eight other members considered regional leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as for two additional members of the Cárteles Unidos group.

The other fugitives

Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez (“R5”) and Edgar Orozco Cabadas (“Kamoni”) are two other lieutenants of Cárteles Unidos; a reward of up to three million dollars is offered for each of them. Next is a two-million-dollar reward for information leading to the capture of Griselda Margarita Arredondo Pinzón—the only woman on the list, who is considered to hold a leadership position.

Finally, rewards of one million dollars are also being offered for eight additional members of the Sinaloa Cartel, who are likewise considered extremely dangerous criminals.

Source: Milenio