Alleged Major Sinaloa Cartel Trafficker Appears In San Diego Court

SAN DIEGO, CA — An alleged Sinaloa Cartel member indicted on charges of trafficking cocaine from South America through Mexico and into the United States made his initial appearance Tuesday in federal court in San Diego.

Miguel Angel Valdez Ruiz, 36, of Sinaloa, Mexico, used a fleet of private aircraft to transport cocaine from Ecuador to Mexico, then coordinated with associates to import the drugs into the U.S., according to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Valdez Ruiz worked as an "intermediary" between former Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Ismael Zambada Garcia and alleged Ecuadorian drug trafficker Wilder Emilio Sanchez Farfan, who is also facing charges in San Diego.

Valdez Ruiz was indicted in 2019. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday. His detention hearing is scheduled for Friday, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Berg.