The Justice Department on Thursday unsealed sweeping drug trafficking indictments against five top leaders of the United Cartels, a powerful Michoacán-based criminal syndicate that President Donald Trump earlier this year designated as a foreign terrorist organization. 

The case is being prosecuted in the Eastern District of Tennessee, where federal prosecutors say the investigation first began before expanding into an international operation. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the charges aim to “dismantle the United Cartels and bring their leaders to justice for unleashing death and destruction on American citizens,” as the Treasury Department simultaneously rolled out economic sanctions targeting the group, its leadership, and allied factions.

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The accused — Juan Jose Farias Alvarez (“El Abuelo”), Alfonso Fernandez Magallon (“Poncho”), Luis Enrique Barragan Chavez (“Wicho / R5”), Edgar Orozco Cabadas (“El Kamoni”), and Nicolas Sierra Santana (“El Gordo”) — are charged in long-running conspiracies to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine into the United States. Prosecutors allege they also deployed armed factions equipped with assault rifles, improvised explosive devices, armored vehicles, and even armed drones to enforce control in Mexico’s Tierra Caliente region.

The five remain fugitives. The State Department announced reward offers totaling up to $26 million for tips leading to their capture, including $10 million for Farias Alvarez.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti said the case began “in a small town in Middle America” before leading to clandestine meth labs in Michoacán and a “brazen shootout” that underscored the danger for law enforcement.

According to court filings, the United Cartels acts as an umbrella network uniting multiple Michoacán cartels to mass-produce methamphetamine, allegedly multiple tons a month, and channel narcotics through U.S. hubs in Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, and Sacramento, with reach extending to Europe and Australia. Proceeds are said to fund heavy weaponry, bribes to local officials, and lavish lifestyles for its leaders.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also sanctioned the United Cartels, its former affiliate Los Viagras, and seven associated individuals. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move highlighted the “diverse, insidious ways the cartels engage in violent activities and exploit otherwise legitimate commerce.”

The crackdown comes as Mexico has in recent months extradited dozens of alleged cartel members to the United States. In February, Trump formally designated eight major cartels, including the United Cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations under the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224, a move that expanded the legal toolkit for U.S. prosecutors and sanctions officials.

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U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee called the case “a sprawling multinational investigation” made possible by cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement. The inquiry was led by Homeland Security Investigations Knoxville office with support from DEA, FBI, and multiple U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.

If captured and convicted, the defendants face maximum sentences of life in prison.