CHICAGO, IL – A federal grand jury has indicted Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe, also known as “El Musico,” for terrorism, drug trafficking, and firearm offenses, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.
According to a superseding indictment unsealed in the Northern District of Illinois, Gastelum Iribe, 50, of Sinaloa, Mexico, directed the Beltran Leyva faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, a designated foreign terrorist organization, in importing massive quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs into the United States. The shipments, often in the hundreds or thousands of kilograms, were distributed nationwide, including in the Chicago area.
Prosecutors allege that after the arrest or death of the faction’s prior leaders, Gastelum Iribe assumed control, ordering kidnappings, murders, and assaults to protect cartel operations. He is accused of directing the killing of a Mexican police officer and two others and arming his members with machine guns, explosives, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
The indictment charges Gastelum Iribe with narcoterrorism, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, drug trafficking, and firearms violations. The terrorism charges stem from President Trump’s Executive Order 14157 designating the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, followed by the State Department’s designation in February.
If convicted, Gastelum Iribe faces a mandatory penalty of life in prison. He remains at large, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
The case is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, with investigative support from Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
