NOGALES, Ariz. — Federal authorities have accused an alleged top Mexican drug cartel lieutenant of helping smuggle tons of methamphetamine, fentanyl and other drugs across the border into the United States.
A 2018 federal indictment from San Diego was unsealed Wednesday that charges Sergio Valenzuela Valenzuela with conspiracy. He's a fugitive.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday also froze Valenzuela's U.S. assets.
The department alleges that Valenzuela was in charge of a major drug corridor that included Nogales, Arizona and reported directly to the head of the Sinaloa Cartel, who’s been indicted in another San Diego indictment and also remains on the run.
"Valenzuela Valenzuela was designated today for materially assisting in, providing financial or technological support for or to, or providing goods or services in support of the international narcotics trafficking activities of the Sinaloa Cartel," the Treasury Department stated on Wednesday.
