Deadly confrontation near Estación Capomas
Mexico's Secretariat of the Navy, or Semar, said the Monday air and ground operation took place around Estación Capomas. Acting on naval intelligence, Navy personnel and members of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection repelled an armed attack near Alfredo V. Bonfil. They seized four stolen vehicles, three long guns, magazines and ammunition.
Semar provisionally identified the dead as Jesús 'N,' also known as 'Chuy Peñuelas,' and Cesáreo 'N.' It described the former as a second-tier Guasave Cartel operative directly below the group's leader, Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, known as 'Chapo Isidro.'
Infobae México named the second man as Cesáreo Peñuelas Ruiz, from ejido 5 de Febrero in Sinaloa de Leyva municipality, and reported that both bodies were taken to the forensic medical service in Culiacán. As of October 28, 2026, neither Mexican nor U.S. authorities had publicly confirmed either man's identity, and no DNA or fingerprint results had been published, according to Infobae México and The Rio Times.
Guasave roots and an earlier Mexican detention order
Infobae México described González Peñuelas as 56 years old and a native of Batamote, Guasave. His DEA wanted notice gave Gabriel Leyva Solano, also in Guasave municipality, as his last known address.
Drawing on reporting by the weekly Ríodoce, Infobae traced his criminal career to the Beltrán Leyva brothers' organization and later to Los Mazatlecos. That armed wing was operating under Meza Flores by 2010. González Peñuelas's influence centered on Guasave, Sinaloa de Leyva and surrounding communities.
A judge in the Seventh District Court in Los Mochis ordered his detention in 2015 on organized-crime and drug charges at the request of Mexico's then-Procuraduría General de la República. His lawyers secured a provisional suspension through an amparo proceeding after posting a 500-peso bond. Appellate magistrates upheld that protection, which Infobae reported allowed him to continue operating without detention by Mexican authorities.
The broader violence in Sinaloa has drawn U.S. scrutiny. According to The Rio Times, the U.S. Treasury said in May 2026 that turf wars in the state had killed more than 600 people since September 2024. The State Department has designated the Sinaloa Cartel a foreign terrorist organization since February 20, 2025.
U.S. trafficking allegations and the $5 million reward
The U.S. Treasury and DEA allege that González Peñuelas had produced and distributed methamphetamine and heroin destined for the United States since 2007. They also accuse him of trafficking cocaine and fentanyl and running distribution cells in California, Texas, Colorado, Washington, Utah and Nevada.
Two federal indictments against him became public in 2021. The Southern District of California indictment, returned in 2017, charged conspiracy to distribute controlled substances intended for importation and conspiracy to import controlled substances. The District of Colorado indictment, returned in 2018, charged conspiracy to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute, and distribute controlled substances intended for importation.
In January 2024, the State Department offered up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction. The DEA launched a dedicated tip line at the same time, accepting calls, texts and WhatsApp messages at 720-355-0168 and emails at Chuy-Reward@dea.gov.
Sanctions against González Peñuelas and his network
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, first designated González Peñuelas a Significant Foreign Narcotics Trafficker on May 12, 2021, under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.
That action also covered six close collaborators, including two of his brothers. Ignacio González Peñuelas, known as 'Nacho,' was identified as his principal lieutenant responsible for shipment security. Wilfrido González Peñuelas was linked to retail sales of heroin and opium. OFAC also designated the Guasave company City Plaza, S.A. de C.V. as an alleged money-laundering front.
OFAC imposed another round of sanctions on González Peñuelas on May 20, 2026, under Executive Order 14059, concerning illicit drug proliferation, and Executive Order 13224, concerning terrorism.
