High-ranking member of Sinaloa cartel indicted by Chicago federal grand jury on drug conspiracy

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa cartel on a drug conspiracy charge, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois said in a news release Thursday.

The indictment, returned Monday, accuses Jose Angel Canobbio Inzunza of manufacturing cocaine, fentanyl, and other drugs in Mexico and importing them into the United States.

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Canobbio Inzunza served as a principal advisor, lieutenant and security chief for Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, who, along with his three brothers, allegedly led a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico after the arrest and imprisonment of their father, Joaquin Guzman Loera, the release said.

The indictment accuses Canobbio Inzunza of conspiring with the brothers, who are known as the "Chapitos," and others to manufacture cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine and marijuana in Mexico and import the drugs into the United States for further distribution.

Canobbio Inzunza financed and led an armed security group known as Los Chimales, which provided security for the Guzman faction of the Sinaloa cartel, and engaged in armed conflict to assist the Chapitos in importing drugs into the United States, the indictment states.

The Chapitos were charged last year in other U.S. indictments.

The indictment against Canobbio Inzunza, 44, charges him with drug conspiracy.

The charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

Canobbio Inzunza is believed to be living in Mexico, and a U.S. warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The video in the player above is from an earlier report.