Mexico Arrests Alleged Jalisco Cartel Cell Leader in Zapopan Operation Aided by DEA Intelligence

Mexican authorities said on Sunday that they had arrested an alleged leader of the Los Rs faction of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the CJNG, in an operation in Jalisco state aided by intelligence shared by the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Mexico's Navy said Rafael N, alias R2, was captured in Zapopan by its special operations unit, working with the security ministry. The Navy said the arrest followed intelligence work by Mexico's National Intelligence Center and information shared by the DEA. Nineteen other people were detained with him, 20 people in total. Mexican authorities customarily withhold surnames and identify suspects by a first name plus an initial. Reporting by AFP, carried by Al Jazeera, names the suspect as Rafael Alvarez.

The arrest was not quiet. Naval personnel came under armed attack during the operation and returned fire, the Navy said. The detainee and one naval officer were wounded and are receiving medical attention. Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said on X that the suspect was wounded in a shootout and is receiving medical care.

What the suspect is accused of

Harfuch said the detainee is a key leader of Los Rs, a CJNG cell that operates in Jalisco and Michoacan. He said the man has an outstanding arrest warrant in Mexico for aggravated homicide and a separate arrest warrant for extradition to the United States. The DEA said R2 was wanted in the US on federal drug trafficking and firearms charges.

"This cell is mainly linked to extortion, drug trafficking, homicide, illegal deprivation of liberty, kidnapping and attacks against authorities," Harfuch said. "Among its victims of extortion are business owners and avocado producers."

The Navy said Rafael N is allegedly linked to the homicide of Carlos Manzo and of 19 other people. Manzo was a former mayor of Uruapan in Michoacan. He was shot and killed during a public Day of the Dead celebration on November 1 last year, while he was with his family.

Every charge in this case is an allegation. The suspect has not been convicted on any of these accounts, and the Mexican authorities' statements describe what they say he did, not what a court has found.

The arrest puts a named CJNG cell leader in Mexican custody with an American extradition warrant already on file. Whether Mexico tries him first on the homicide warrant at home, and how the extradition request proceeds while he recovers from his wounds, are the next steps the authorities have not yet set out.