A car accident in small-town Tennessee leads to US charges against a
major Mexican drug operation
[August 15, 2025]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The investigation began years ago after two drug
dealers got into a car accident in a small Tennessee town. What followed
was a series of secret wiretaps, a shootout with police and the
discovery of drugs hidden in a tractor trailer that would eventually
lead federal investigators back to cartel leaders in Mexico.
The investigation culminated with Justice Department indictments
unsealed Thursday against three leaders and two high-ranking enforcers
of the United Cartels, a leading rival of Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
The U.S. government is offering a reward of up to $10 million for
information leading to the arrest of United Cartels' top leader, Juan
José Farías Álvarez — “El Abuelo,” or the grandfather — along with
multimillion-dollar rewards for the four others. All five are believed
to be in Mexico.
The cases, as outlined in court documents, provide a glimpse into how
drugs produced by violent cartels in large labs in Mexico flow across
the U.S. border and reach American streets. They also highlight the
violent fallout that drug trafficking leaves in its path from the
mountains of Mexico to small U.S. towns.
"These cases in particular serve as a powerful reminder of the insidious
impacts that global cartels can have on our local American communities,"
Matthew Galeotti, acting assistant attorney general in charge of the
Justice Department's criminal division said in an interview with The
Associated Press. “The chain started with a violent cartel in Mexico and
it ended with law enforcement being shot at in a small town."
United Cartels is an umbrella organization made up of smaller cartels
that have worked for different groups over time. It holds a fierce grip
over the western state of Michoacan, Mexico, an area of economic
interest to the United States because its avocado exports.
United Cartels is not as widely known as Jalisco New Generation, but
given its role as a prolific methamphetamine producer, it has become a
top tier target for U.S. law enforcement. It was one of eight groups
recently named foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump
administration.
A car crash and an abandoned protective case
The case goes back to 2019, when two dealers got into a car accident
near Rockwood, Tennessee, outside of Knoxville, according to a search
warrant affidavit filed in court. While fleeing the scene of the crash,
they threw a hardened protective case filled with meth behind a building
before being caught by police, according to court documents.
Authorities began investigating, using wiretaps, search warrants and
surveillance to identify a man believed to be leading a major drug ring
in the Atlanta area: Eladio Mendoza.
The investigation into Mendoza's suspected drug operation led law
enforcement in early 2020 to a hotel near Atlanta. During their
surveillance, authorities spotted a man leaving with a large Doritos
bag. Troopers tried to stop the man after he drove from Georgia into
Tennessee but he fled and fired an AK-style rifle at officers, hitting
one in the leg before another trooper shot him. Inside the bag, police
found meth and heroin, and identified him as a low-level dealer for
Mendoza’s drug ring, court records say.
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Weeks later, authorities searched properties linked to Mendoza and
seized phones. They discovered messages between Mendoza and a close
associate of “El Abuelo,” the leader of United Cartels, that showed
the drugs were coming from Mexico, according to the court records.
On one of Mendoza's properties, investigators found a tractor
trailer that had crossed from Mexico days earlier. When they
searched it, authorities seized 850 kilograms of meth hidden in the
floor of the truck and discovered more drugs inside a bus and a home
on the property, court papers say.
Mendoza fled the U.S. a short time later and returned to Mexico,
where he was killed by cartels leaders angry that U.S. authorities
had seized their cash and drugs, according to prosecutors.
Cartels are targeted with terrorist designations
The case represents the latest effort by the Republican
administration to turn up the pressure on cartels through not only
indictments of the groups' leaders but sanctions targeting their
financial network. The Treasury Department is also bringing economic
sanctions against the five defendants as well as the United Cartels
as a group and a cartel under its umbrella, Los Viagras.
“We have to pursue these criminals up and down the chain to make
sure that the end result doesn’t result in violence and narcotics
distribution on our streets," Galeotti said.
In addition to “El Abuelo,” those facing U.S. indictments are
Alfonso Fernández Magallón, or Poncho, and Nicolás Sierra Santana or
“El Gordo,” who authorities say lead smaller cartels under the
United Cartels organization. The two other defendants are Edgar
Orozco Cabadas or “El Kamoni,” who was communicating with Mendoza,
and Luis Enrique Barragán Chavaz, or “Wicho,” who serves as Magallón
second-in-command, according to authorities.
The Trump administration has seen major cooperation from Mexico in
recent months in turning over cartel leaders wanted by U.S.
authorities.
In February, Mexico sent the U.S. 29 drug cartel figures, including
drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S.
DEA agent in 1985, to the U.S. And on Tuesday, the Mexican
government transferred to American custody 26 additional cartel
leaders and other high-ranking members, including a man charged in
connection to the killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy.
"We’re working with the Mexican authorities to pursue these
individuals," Galeotti said. “We continue to work proactively with
them, and we expect that they’ll be helpful with us in securing the
presence of these individuals in United States courtrooms.”
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Associated Press writer María Verza in Mexico City contributed to
this report.
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