A methamphetamine bust near Knoxville, Tennessee helped prosecutors build a case that led a federal grand jury to return an indictment accusing two Mexican nationals of trafficking “immense” quantities of the drug throughout the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday.
In a press release, the DOJ Office of Public Affairs confirmed the indictments of Jose “Juanjo” Farias Mendoza and Israel “Papo” Vega Farias, who it described as residents of Michoacan, Mexico, and as “high-ranking members of the United Cartels.”
The United Cartels, also known as Carteles Unidos, was added to the list of entities designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) by the U.S. Department of State in February 2025. According to the Counter-Terrorism Guide maintained by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the United Cartels is actually “a coalition of drug trafficking and criminal organizations,” formed in 2019 to establish the west-central Mexican state of Michoacan as their territory.
According to the ODNI, the criminal enterprise employs both threats and violence against Mexican authorities to achieve compliance, with “small arms, IEDs, and weaponized [unmanned aircraft systems]” all employed against rival cartels and Mexican police, according to the Counter-Terrorism Guide.
The guide alleges the cartel, “smuggles cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine into the United States.”
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Francis Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee confirmed the investigation which led to the indictment began in rural Tennessee.
“The investigation into the United Cartels began in the Eastern District of Tennessee, with a seizure of methamphetamine in a small town outside Knoxville, and a larger interdiction of over 950 kilograms of methamphetamine and fentanyl outside of Atlanta,” said Hamilton.
He added that the investigation ultimately included the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), and the 9th Judicial Task Force.
The press release also states that the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case, which will be prosecuted by the DOJ Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section.
According to the DOJ, Mendoza and Farias are respectively the son and nephew of Juan Jose Farias Alvarez, the alleged leader of the United Cartels who was charged by the DOJ in East Tennessee in 2024.
The indictment accuses both men of participating in an Alvarez’s alleged international meth conspiracy, using firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and of providing materiel support to FTOs.
Cartel violence has continued to plague Mexico in recent years. Earlier this year, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel began a violent rampage in Puerto Vallarta, reportedly killing at least 25 members of the Mexican National Guard.
In response to the violence, President Donald Trump last year floated the possibility of military action in Mexico, at one point alleging Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was “afraid of the cartels.”
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
