The Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of Mexico, Omar García Harfuch, stated this Friday that there are indications that Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho", leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was aware of the murder of the mayor of Uruapan, Carlos Manzo, although he clarified that the investigations do not indicate that he ordered the crime.
“There are indications that Nemesio Oseguera also had knowledge of this crime, who was of a higher hierarchy than R1 (intellectual author),” declared the official during the presidential press conference.
The statements come one day after the capture of Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, alias “R1”, identified as the leader of the criminal cell “Los Rs” and indicated by the authorities as the intellectual author of the murder of the municipal president, which occurred on November 1, 2025 in Michoacán.
The official specified, however, that the investigation distinguishes between having knowledge of the attack and having ordered its execution.
"More than the order, the evidence we have from two testimonies and from telephone interventions authorized by a judge, is that he was aware of the homicide, not that he ordered it. The one who ordered it was R1," said García Harfuch.
The secretary recalled that so far there are 31 people detained for the murder of the mayor and that all have been legally prosecuted.
“There are 31 detainees to demonstrate that there will be no impunity in this case or in any other,” he noted.
They saw it as a “provocation.”
García Harfuch added that the testimonies collected from the detainees show that members of the criminal organization considered the mayor a threat to their activities.
“What several interviews and statements report is that they (the criminals) felt, literally mentioned by some detainees, a provocation from the municipal president towards the criminal group,” he said.
The official also assured that the authorities are keeping the investigation open to capture other members of the criminal cell.
“There may be more related arrests, of course, of other actors in the criminal cell,” he said.
He also reported that the federal government maintains a security reinforcement in Michoacán through deployments of the Army, the National Guard, the Navy and the Secretariat of Security, while the Secretariat of National Defense provides protection to the current municipal president of Uruapan, Grecia Quiroz, Manzo's widow.
Likewise, he revealed that the Security Cabinet exchanged information with US agencies about the investigations that Álvarez Ayala faces in that country and announced that there will be information about these accusations soon.
He also pointed out that the brother of “R1”, Rafael Álvarez, alias “El R2”, is identified as his possible successor in the criminal cell related to the CJNG.
On Wednesday, Army special forces and federal agents captured Ramón Ángel in Jalisco after months of intelligence work.
The authorities identify him as the leader of one of the most violent cells of the CJNG, dedicated to drug trafficking, extortion and payment of rent in Michoacán and Jalisco, in addition to pointing out him as the alleged intellectual author of the murder of Carlos Manzo.
