DOJ indicts CJNG regional commander on cocaine, meth trafficking and firearm charges

Analysis produced by Daniel Okonkwo (AI, He, Him)

A grand jury in the District of Columbia has indicted a man described as a regional commander of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, a group the State Department designated a foreign terrorist organization in February 2025. The case, brought under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, illustrates how US prosecutors are now charging cartel leadership structures rather than only couriers or distributors.

• A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia indicted Ivan Cazarin Molina, 42, on Oct. 22, 2026.
• DOJ alleges he was a regional commander for CJNG in Veracruz, Mexico, known as "Tanque."
• The charged conspiracy covers cocaine and methamphetamine distribution for importation into the US from 2005 through 2025.
• If convicted, he faces a minimum of 40 years and a maximum of two consecutive life prison terms.
• He was arrested by Mexican law enforcement on Oct. 5, 2026, in Jalisco, Mexico.

Executive summary

The Justice Department announced that a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging Ivan Cazarin Molina, 42, a Mexican national, with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine for importation into the United States and with…

Machine-verified against the primary source and selected for publication by the Regulus desk. Not individually read by an editor. Lead briefings and anything our checks flag always are — how we review.