Mexico arrests alleged major leader of Jalisco cartel

Rafael Alvarez, alias ‘R2’, was captured with intelligence shared by the ⁠US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Authorities in Mexico have announced the arrest of an alleged leader in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the country’s two main criminal groups.

Rafael Alvarez, alias “R2”, who is suspected of heading CJNG’s “Los Rs” cell, was arrested in an operation in the city of Zapopan, in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, on Sunday, as a result of intelligence shared by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)⁠, according to Mexico’s Navy.

“This cell is mainly ⁠linked to extortion, drug trafficking, homicide, illegal deprivation of liberty, kidnapping and attacks against authorities,” Mexico’s Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said.

He added that victims of the group’s extortion included “business owners and avocado producers”.

Harfuch said on X that Alvarez was wounded in a shootout that broke out during the arrest and is receiving medical care.

Alvarez has an outstanding arrest warrant in Mexico for aggravated homicide and another warrant for ⁠extradition to the US, Harfuch also said.

Authorities, including those from Mexico’s National Intelligence Center, also took part in the operation, which captured 19 other people.

Alvarez is linked to the killing of at least 19 people, including last year’s murder of Carlos Manzo, the popular crime-fighting mayor of Uruapan in Mexico’s avocado-producing Michoacan state.

The CJNG, which operates in the states of Jalisco and Michoacan, was designated a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the US government in 2025 and is known for violent tactics and attacks on authorities.

It competes with the Sinaloa Cartel for drug trafficking into the US.

Since the death of the CJNG founder, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, in a military operation in February, several of its top leaders have been apprehended.

But there are still reports of kidnapping for ransom in the areas where the cartels are active.

An estimated 134,000 people are believed to be missing across Mexico, with Jalisco recording the country’s highest numbers of disappearances.