Mexican authorities killed Pedro Inzunza Coronel, known as “El Pichón,” one of Mexico’s top fentanyl traffickers. The navy carried out the operation Sunday in Sinaloa, a north-western state. Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s security secretary, said on X, “Two operators of this criminal cell were detained and upon attacking the naval personnel, Pedro ‘N’ Pichón lost his life.” Coronel was wanted by US authorities on narco-terrorism charges for trafficking massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin. He worked closely with his father, Pedro Inzunza Noriega. Last year, Mexican forces seized over 1.65 tons of fentanyl from their labs, the largest global seizure. The US Department of Justice charged the father and son with narco-terrorism and money laundering in May. The US attorney’s office in southern California called the indictment “the first in the nation.” The pair led one of the “largest and most sophisticated fentanyl production networks in the world” and shipped tens of thousands of kilos of fentanyl into the US. Coronel and his father were key leaders in the Beltran Leyva Organization, a cartel faction once tied to the Sinaloa Cartel. Although the group is believed defunct, splinter groups like the Guasave Cartel, led by Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, aka “El Chapo Isidro,” remain active. Meza Flores was named to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list in February. During the operation, authorities found several drug labs and seized weapons, vehicles, drugs, and chemical precursors. US Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson praised the action on X. He said Coronel was accused of “murders, kidnappings, torture, and violent debt collection for drug trafficking.” Johnson added, “These results reflect what our nations can achieve when they work together against those who pose a threat to our citizens.”