The Narco Blog

$5 Million for a Man Mexico Said It Captured in 2012: ICE Renews Its Hunt for Sinaloa Cartel’s José Salgueiro-Nevarez, ‘El Che,’ Charged in Tucson

By The Narco Blog · October 4, 2026 · Updated October 4, 2026

U.S. wanted poster for Jose Salgueiro-Nevarez offering a reward of up to $5,000,000, with his photo, 'Last Seen: Chihuahua, Mexico' and Homeland Security Investigations and State Department seals — The Homeland Security Investigations and State Department wanted poster for José Salgueiro-Nevarez, offering up to $5 million. Image: U.S. Department of State / ICE-HSI (public domain).

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is again advertising a reward of up to $5 million for José Salgueiro-Nevarez, alias “El Che,” a man it calls a Sinaloa Cartel leader in Chihuahua, Mexico, El Tiempo reported on Oct. 3, 2026. The catch: Milenio reports that Mexico’s Army captured him in Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, in October 2012, and his legal status since then has never been made public.

What ICE is asking for

According to El Tiempo, ICE posted the wanted notice on X. The agency said he is sought for alleged crimes against the United States and warned the public not to try to detain him. El Tiempo said the notice has been published four times since June. The official poster lists his last known location as Chihuahua, Mexico, and directs tips to salgueiro.tips@ice.dhs.gov or +1-520-335-7315.

The State Department first announced $5 million rewards for José and his brothers Ruperto and Heriberto in November 2021, Borderland Beat reported at the time. Milenio reported on Sept. 18, 2026, that prosecutors in Tucson, Arizona, charged José and two of his brothers in February 2020 with international conspiracy to distribute marijuana, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, and named him in a February 2023 indictment with 13 others. None of those charges has been proven in court.

Who is ‘El Che’?

Milenio, citing U.S. and Mexican Army records, says he was born Dec. 28, 1966, in Guadalupe y Calvo, Chihuahua, and also goes by “El 90” and “El Tío.” It reports that from 2005 Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán tasked him and his brothers with overseeing the Sinaloa Cartel‘s operations in Chihuahua. After his brother Noel, “El Flaco,” was captured in October 2011, Army reports say José rose to lieutenant there. Milenio says he allegedly ordered the August 2012 killing of a rival boss, Joel Rivera Araujo, “R3,” and controlled marijuana-growing areas in southern Chihuahua and extortion of merchants and miners in Hidalgo del Parral.

Captured in 2012, still a fugitive?

Milenio reports that soldiers arrested him with five associates on Oct. 29, 2012, and that it is unknown whether he was later freed or remains in a Mexican prison. El Imparcial noted on July 13, 2026, that Mexican authorities reported capturing José in 2012 and Heriberto in 2015, yet ICE still lists both as fugitives. El Tiempo’s report does not address the 2012 arrest.

Noel, credited with founding the Gente Nueva cell, was extradited to the U.S. in 2019, deported back to Mexico at Matamoros in June 2026, and sentenced on Sept. 13 to 29 years and three months, El Imparcial reported. Milenio’s video report:

Sources

Reported Oct. 4, 2026, from the outlets and U.S. government records above. The Narco Blog could not confirm whether José Salgueiro-Nevarez is in custody. He has not been convicted of the U.S. charges and is presumed innocent.