https://www.kcbd.com/2025/02/26/high-ranking-sinaloa-cartel-leader-extradited-el-paso-faces-up-life-federal-prison/

A high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel was extradited from Mexico to El Paso, indicted for criminal charges related to his alleged federal racketeering, narcotics, money laundering, firearms, and continuing criminal enterprise offenses.

According to court documents, Daniel Franco Lopez, also known as Micha, Neon, and Fer, 40, of Mexico, allegedly coordinated the shipments of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and thousands of kilograms of marijuana into the United States, along with the pickup of drug proceeds, and kidnappings and murders.

Lopez was indicted in April 2012 along with Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as Chapo; Ismael Zambada Garcia, also known as Mayo; and over a dozen other codefendants. He was arrested on Aug. 14, 2012, and remained in Mexican custody until his extradition. Lopez made his initial appearance in federal court on Feb. 24.

“The extradition of this defendant is of many significant pieces in a very large cartel case that spans more than a decade,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas. “Not only are we grateful for the enduring and successful efforts of our federal law enforcement partners at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), but I want to emphasize our goal to put an end to these organizations is shared by this U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Justice Department, and our counterparts in Mexico.”

“Daniel Franco Lopez was defendant #16 on DEA’s RICO indictment that included Joaquin ‘Chapo’ Guzman and Ismael ‘Mayo’ Zambada,” said Special Agent in Charge Towanda Thorne-James of the DEA’s El Paso Division. “This extradition demonstrates that the men and women of DEA will never tire of pursuing the most violent, drug traffickers responsible for thousands of deaths in our country. We thank our domestic and international partners for their assistance on this case.”

“The extradition is one more step towards dismantling and ending violence perpetrated by criminal drug trafficking organizations such as the Sinaloa Cartel,” said Special Agent in Charge John Morales of the FBI El Paso Field Office. “The FBI and our partners will endlessly pursue and prosecute cartel members and associates who attempt to control and intimidate their communities through violence. This extradition starts the justice process to all of those who have suffered as a result of Franco Lopez’s criminal actions as a member of the Sinaloa Cartel.”

“This case reads like a Hollywood movie script,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II of the ATF Dallas Field Division. “You know the film… cartels, guns, drugs, money, feds. Fortunately for the citizens of the United States, the good guys prevailed in this one. Mr. Lopez, an alleged underground criminal mastermind, left a path of destruction in his path. The American people are safer with this bandit in handcuffs and behind bars.”

Lopez is charged with one count of RICO conspiracy, two counts related to conspiracy to possess and import over five kilograms of cocaine and over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, one count of conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes and aid and abet, and one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise in furtherance of drug trafficking. If convicted, Lopez faces up to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The DEA, FBI, and ATF are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Antonio Franco, Kyle Myers, and Susanna Martinez for the Western District of Texas are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Lopez.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.