Sinaloa Cartel leader charged with smuggling fentanyl, cocaine into South Florida
-7.jpg "The fentanyl and cocaine that federal agents seized during the arrest of Fidel Felix-Ochoa, a leader of the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel.")
A leader of the Sinaloa Cartel accused of smuggling hundreds of kilos of fentanyl and cocaine appeared Monday in Fort Lauderdale federal court after being extradited along with 36 other alleged Mexican drug traffickers to the United States last month.
Fidel Felix-Ochoa, 53, charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, faces an arraignment and detention hearing on Thursday.
His indictment has not been unsealed, but federal authorities say it is an outgrowth of a 2023 drug-trafficking conspiracy case that led to the convictions of seven other members of the Sinaloa Cartel in South Florida, including a few who received maximum life sentences.
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In a detention motion, federal prosecutor Ajay Alexander alleges Felix-Ochoa “oversaw the collection and preparation of hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl and cocaine in Mexico and arranged to have the drugs smuggled into the United States through couriers, using either vehicles or U.S. mail.
Stash houses
He also “directed members to store the cocaine and fentanyl in stash houses throughout the United States and transport the drugs to narcotics dealers and customers throughout the United States, including Florida, Arizona, California, Texas, and Massachusetts,” the filing says.
-3.jpg "DrugsSeizedSinaloaCartelCase (1)-3.jpg")
His defense attorney, Manuel Casabielle, declined to comment.
During the investigation into Felix-Ochoa and his co-conspirators, federal agents seized about 73,000 fentanyl pills, 21 kilos of pure fentanyl, 110 kilos of crystal methamphetamine, two kilos of cocaine and 24 firearms.
A year ago, the Trump administration designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
“The charges target an alleged senior leader of the Sinaloa Cartel who is accused of directing the flow of massive quantities of fentanyl and other deadly narcotics into the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida, noting the scourge of the synthetic heroin in communities across America.
“No cartel leader is beyond the reach of the rule of law,” he said in a statement.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Broward Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
This story was originally published February 23, 2026 at 5:36 PM.