Sinaloa Plaza Boss 'El Pato' Arrested in Ciudad Juárez — First FTO Counterterrorism Op

Mexican authorities captured Leonardo Daniel 'El Pato' Martínez Vera, a Sinaloa Cartel plaza boss operating in the Ciudad Juárez corridor, following a nine-month joint intelligence operation. The arrest was notable as one of the first major operations utilizing US counterterrorism resources enabled by the Trump administration's January 2026 designation of the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The counterterrorism framework allowed DEA and US intelligence agencies to share higher-classification intelligence assets with Mexican security forces. Ciudad Juárez is a critical fentanyl trans-shipment point; plaza bosses control taxation of all drug movements through the crossing.