WASHINGTON (TNND) — Alleged leaders of a Sinaloa Cartel faction have been indicted on narcoterrorism charges, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday.

Some of the seven men from Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica were charged with involving themselves in a terrorist organization for drug trafficking, as well as continuing a criminal enterprise and conspiring to distribute and import controlled substances, the DOJ said in a press release. The department added that other men, who are accused of leading the Beltrán-Leyva Organization, were also charged with providing material support to terrorism and money laundering.

“The Sinaloa Cartel is a complex, dangerous terrorist organization and dismantling them demands a novel, powerful legal response,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “Their days of brutalizing the American people without consequence are over – we will seek life in prison for these terrorists.”

The men include Pedro Inzunza Noriega, a 62-year-old from Sinaloa, Mexico. He allegedly works closely with his son, Pedro Inzunza Coronel, who is also a defendant, to produce and “aggressively” traffic fentanyl to the U.S. Court documents indicate the duo leads one of the largest and most sophisticated fentanyl production networks in the world, according to the DOJ. They have trafficked tens of thousands of kilograms of fentanyl into the U.S. over the past several years, the department explained.

In December, the DOJ noted, Mexican law enforcement seized more than 3,600 pounds of the drug across multiple locations in Sinaloa controlled and managed by Inzunza Noriega and Inzunza Coronel. It was allegedly the largest ever seizure of fentanyl.

“[The Beltrán-Leyva Organization], under the leadership of Inzunza Noriega, is allegedly responsible for some of the largest-ever drug seizures of fentanyl and cocaine destined for the United States,” Acting Special Agent in Charge Houtan Moshrefi of the FBI San Diego Field Office said. “Their drugs not only destroy lives and communities, but also threaten our national security.”

Other men who were charged include David Alejandro Heredia Velazquez, Oscar Rene Gonzalez Menendez, Elias Alberto Quiros Benavides, Daniel Eduardo Bojorquez and Javier Alonso Vazquez Sanchez. The Beltrán-Leyva Organization has engaged in murders, shootouts, torture, kidnappings and violent collection of drug debts to sustain its operations, according to the DOJ, which pursued the case as part of “Operation Take Back America,” an effort to stop illegal immigration and eliminate cartels and transnational gangs.

“Operation Take Back America initiatives reflect the reality that narco-terrorists operate as a cancer within a state,” U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California said. “They metastasize violence, corruption and fear. If left unchecked, their growth would lead to the death of law and order.”

The National News Desk could not determine by the time this article was published whether the defendants had legal representation though which the outlet could request comment.

Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.