El Chore arrested in Hermosillo over US extradition request

Reporting and context

Carlos Iván, known as “El Chore,” was arrested in Hermosillo, Sonora, on October 22 in an operation involving state investigators, Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s office and INTERPOL. According to El Financiero, authorities identify him as a member of Los Gigios, a Nogales-based cell of La Mayiza, and say he is sought for extradition to the United States in connection with a DEA request.

Sonora’s state prosecutor’s office announced the arrest on Saturday, saying intelligence analysis and fieldwork had established his identity and legal status. El Financiero reported that he would remain in a federal prison in Mexico City while awaiting extradition. The report did not give a transfer date.

The newspaper described Carlos Iván as close to Sergio “Gigio” Valenzuela Valenzuela, whom it identified as Los Gigios’ leader and a close associate of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. It attributed to the U.S. government an estimate that Los Gigios controls about 44 percent of fentanyl and other illegal-drug trafficking from Nogales, Sonora. That figure concerns trafficking from Nogales, rather than a nationwide share.

Valenzuela was the first priority target of Operation Plaza Spike, announced in 2024. In an April 10, 2024 statement cited by El Financiero, U.S. Customs and Border Protection described the initiative as targeting cartel logistics hubs immediately south of the border, including the movement of fentanyl, its analogues, precursor chemicals and drug-manufacturing equipment.

CBP also said its officers intercepted fentanyl originating in Valenzuela’s territory through northbound ports of entry almost daily. Those statements describe the broader trafficking operation targeted by U.S. authorities; the report provides no seizure quantity from Carlos Iván’s arrest.

Original reporting by El Financiero