"Char" for Borderland Beat
This information was posted by LOS NOTICIERISTAS
APRIL 3, 2025
Culiacán, Sinaloa.- On Wednesday, April 2, Leobardo García Corrales, alias "El Leo," "El 18," or better known as "El Leobas" in the region, was arrested in Mexico City. He was a member of a criminal group in Sinaloa with its base of operations in Cosalá and Elota.
The operations were led by members of the Attorney General's Office and the Navy, in coordination with the Defense Ministry, the National Guard, and the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection.
In the statement issued by federal authorities, it is reported that the Tlalpan municipality was identified as the transit area for Leobardo "N." He has an extradition request and is wanted by US authorities. Therefore, fixed, mobile, and discreet surveillance was implemented.
That's how security agents located him on Adolfo Ruiz Cortines Boulevard in the Jardines de la Montaño neighborhood, where they stopped him, verified his identity, and arrested him.
Omar García Harfuch confirms
“In Mexico City, in an operation led by @FGRMexico and @SEMAR_mx, Leobardo “N,” alias “Leo,” was arrested. He was wanted by the @DEAHQ in the United States for being linked to drug trafficking for a criminal organization, in addition to organized crime, public health offenses, and illegal use of firearms and explosives.”
“With these actions, we continue working together to arrest fugitives from the law,” the message concluded.
US Offering Reward
The US State Department was offering $4 million for information on Leobardo García. According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Sinaloa Cartel is largely responsible for the massive influx of fentanyl into the US in recent years.
According to the information provided in the US State Department's search report, "El Leobas" has described himself as a close associate of Ismael Zambada García and Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera.
After a couple of years in which García Corrales presumed the manufacture, sale, and distribution of fentanyl in various areas of the United States, on April 4, 2023, a federal grand jury in New York returned an indictment against Leobardo García Corrales and others, charging them with conspiracy to import fentanyl, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
"El Leobas" is originally from Potrerillo del Norote, in the municipality of Elota. He would have turned 55 in 2025.
Two of his brothers were murdered in 2024.
On August 17, 2024, three bodies were found on the road leading to the municipality of Cosalá and the town of Conitaca, in the jurisdiction of the municipality of Elota. They were located near the town of El Aguaje.
Two of them were brothers of "El Leobas," Martín and José Ricardo García Corrales. According to the report, they were killed by gunshot wounds and showed signs of torture. The United States government was offering a reward for Martín, like Leobardo, who was found.
