The U.S. State Department said in February 2026 that it would pay up to $10 million for information leading to the arrests or convictions of two brothers identified as leaders of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel in the state of Baja California, which includes Tijuana.
The reward offer came on February 26, the same day that authorities announced a new indictment against Rene Arzate Garcia, 42, known as “La Rana” (The Frog). He initially was charged with drug crimes in San Diego, California. The superseding indictment includes charges of conspiracy, narcoterrorism and material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
The U.S. is offering $5 million each for information leading to the capture of Rene Arzate Garcia and Alfonso Arzate Garcia, 52, known as “Aquiles,” or Achilles. Their whereabouts are unknown.
“As controllers of a critical trafficking node in Tijuana at the U.S. border, the Arzate-Garcia brothers have become key essential components of the cartel’s command and control structure,” the State Department said. “Their control of the Tijuana Plaza offers the Sinaloa Cartel a tactical advantage in maintaining dominance over rival organizations, ensuring no interruption to the busiest border crossing in the Western Hemisphere.”
California’s border with Mexico has been a battleground between the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels. The rewards were announced four days after the Mexican Army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” decapitating what had become Mexico’s most powerful cartel.