Mexico's Old Judiciary Had Freed the Leader of Los Rs, Detained for the Murder of Carlos Manzo
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Absolved in five federal cases and freed by a 2022 “judicial Saturday” ruling, R1 had been exposed in AMLO’s press conference as the emblem of impunity used to justify reforming the Judiciary.

This article by Anahí Del Ángel originally appeared in the July 31, 2026 edition of Contralínea, a Mexican investigative journalism magazine.

Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, alias R1, an alleged member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and identified as the mastermind behind the murder of the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, Carlos Manzo, was arrested by agents of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection and Special Forces of the Mexican Army. The alleged criminal leader was showcased during the administration of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador as one of the emblematic cases of impunity of the then Federal Judiciary, after having been arrested in 2012 and regaining his freedom in 2022 following his acquittal in five federal criminal proceedings. This was despite the fact that investigations identified him as one of the operators tasked with expanding CJNG operations into Michoacán and Guanajuato.

Following intelligence work, on July 30 Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, alias R1 or Moncho, was arrested, identified as the leader of Los Rs, one of the most violent cells allegedly linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), with a presence in the municipalities of Apatzingán, Uruapan, Morelia, Álvaro Obregón, Huandacareo, Tacámbaro, and Tzitzio, in Michoacán, as well as in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara and other regions of Jalisco.

In this regard, at the presidential press conference on July 31, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, reported that this generator of violence was the mastermind behind the murder of the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, Carlos Manzo, which occurred on November 1, 2025, in the Plaza Morelos in Uruapan.

He added that investigations made it possible to establish that Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala ordered and financed the assassination of the politician, which is why the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Michoacán identify him as the principal mastermind behind the murder. García Harfuch said that the evidence obtained also makes it possible to maintain that the now-deceased Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias Mencho and the historic leader of the CJNG, had knowledge of the plan to assassinate the mayor of Uruapan.

The federal official detailed that Los Rs coordinated drug trafficking activities, controlled drug shipment routes toward the United States, and obtained resources through extortion and the charging of protection fees from lime and avocado producers, ranchers, merchants, transporters, and other productive sectors. In addition, they maintained support networks to dispute highway corridors and expand the CJNG’s presence in Michoacán.

Likewise, he reported that with this capture the number of people arrested and bound over for trial for their probable participation in the murder of Mayor Carlos Manzo now totals 31. The first ministerial statements, he indicated, suggest that the crime was carried out because the criminal group interpreted that Manzo was “provoking” them.

The name of Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala gained public notoriety during the administration of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, when he was presented in the Zero Impunity segment as one of the examples used by the federal government to demonstrate judicial rulings that allowed the release of alleged criminal leaders and to support the need for a reform of the Judiciary.

On November 24, 2022, the then Undersecretary of Public Security, Ricardo Mejía Berdeja, reported that Ramón Ángel had regained his freedom in the early morning of November 19, through what he described as a “judicial Saturday,” a practice that consisted of issuing rulings on weekends, when the justice bodies operated with less activity.

At that time, Álvarez Ayala faced charges of organized crime for the purpose of committing crimes against health; however, the then judge Yolanda Cecilia Chávez Montelongo, head of the First District Court for Federal Criminal Proceedings in Jalisco, issued an acquittal that ordered his release. Subsequently, the Second District Court in Sonora carried out the ruling and notified the Federal Social Readaptation Center in Hermosillo to finalize his departure from the prison.

Federal government slide showing R1's trajectory of impunity and the five judicial rulings that freed him

Graphic: SSPC

According to the information presented by the federal government, the alleged criminal leader had accumulated five criminal records and various judicial warrants for crimes such as organized crime and kidnapping.

In the five federal criminal proceedings he faced, he was acquitted on grounds such as a lack of elements to prosecute him, insufficiency of evidence, dismissal of evidence, or the absence of witnesses.

“In all of these proceedings the modus operandi was the dismissal of evidence, the non-appearance of witnesses, or the consideration that there were not sufficient elements to establish his responsibility,” Mejía Berdeja maintained at the time.

Subsequently, in January 2023, the then Undersecretary of Security, Luis Rodríguez Bucio, publicly identified judge Yolanda Cecilia Chávez Montelongo as the person responsible for the ruling that allowed the release of the alleged CJNG operator.

From CJNG Operator to Alleged Mastermind of the Assassination of Carlos Manzo

Mejía Berdeja explained that Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala was arrested in March 2012 along with his brothers Rafael, alias R2, and Jesús Santiago, identified as members of the CJNG.

At that time he was considered one of the main operators of the criminal organization and was credited with coordinating the actions to expand the cartel’s presence into Guanajuato and Michoacán, in addition to directing attacks against rival groups on the instructions of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias Mencho.

He was also identified as responsible for organizing the highway blockades and vehicle fires recorded in March 2012 in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara and Colima, following an operation by the then Secretariat of National Defense in which Erick Valencia Salazar, alias 85, cofounder of the CJNG, was captured — currently imprisoned in the United States after being sent under the National Security Law.

Although he remained imprisoned for a decade, he obtained his freedom in November 2022 after being acquitted in the criminal proceedings he faced.

However, Omar García Harfuch revealed that, after regaining his freedom, Ramón Ángel resumed his operations within the CJNG, which is why the investigations carried out over the past months made it possible to once again identify his participation in activities related to the supply of weapons and ammunition, drug trafficking, extortion, the charging of protection fees, and various violent acts attributed to this criminal organization.

The secretary added that this cell is also being investigated for its alleged participation in the femicide of Valeria Márquez, which occurred in May 2025 in Zapopan, Jalisco, due to the relationship of Francisco “N,” son of Ramón Ángel, with the victim.

Nine Months of Investigation Into the Assassination of Carlos Manzo

The mayor’s assassination was used by members of the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) to try to construct a narrative of collusion between the federal government and organized crime, by attributing the murder to a supposed failure in the security strategy, without mentioning that the principal mastermind had regained his freedom through rulings of the then Judiciary.

After nine months of investigation, the capture of R1 represents the most important advance in clarifying the murder of the independent mayor, which occurred on November 1, 2025, when he was shot in the Plaza Morelos during the Festival de las Velas.

The material aggressor, a 17-year-old adolescent identified as Víctor Manuel “N,” was killed by the municipal president’s bodyguards during the attack, while a councilman and a security officer were injured.

The crime provoked strong social outrage. Between November 3 and 6, 2025, hundreds of citizens held marches and protests in Uruapan and later in Morelia to demand justice and the clarification of the assassination.

Federal government profile slide on R1 and the November 2022 ruling that ordered his release

Graphic: SSPC

After the murder, Grecia Quiroz, the mayor’s widow, took over the municipal presidency, while President Claudia Sheinbaum ordered the launch of the Michoacán Plan for Peace and Justice to strengthen security in the state.

On November 10, Fernando Josué “N” and Ramiro “N,” identified as alleged accomplices of the shooter, were found dead. On their cell phones, WhatsApp messages were found that made it possible to reconstruct the planning of the attack and the chain of command of the criminal organization.

On November 19, 2025, Omar García Harfuch announced the capture of Jorge Armando “N,” alias Licenciado, identified as the coordinator of the cell that carried out the attack and the direct liaison with the material perpetrators.

Subsequently, on December 24, Alejandro Baruc “N,” alias K-os, chief of hitmen for Licenciado, was arrested; he received the participants in the attack and later ordered them killed to eliminate evidence. In the operation, his romantic partner, María Magdalena “N,” was also captured.

On January 11, 2026, Samuel García Rivero, then director of Public Relations and Protocol for the Uruapan City Government, was arrested, accused of allegedly delivering the mayor’s schedule, location, and photographs in real time to CJNG members in exchange for two “grapas” of cocaine. The taxi driver Josué Elogio “N,” identified as a logistical operator, was also captured.

The investigations also revealed the criminal group’s infiltration of police forces. On June 2, 2026, two municipal police officers were arrested, accused of allegedly leaking information to regional CJNG operators.

On July 8, 2026, the Michoacán Attorney General’s Office reported that the investigation had reached an advance of close to 80 percent. By then, the mayor’s seven personal bodyguards had already been arrested for their alleged participation in the crime, and search orders were maintained against other members of the criminal structure.

With his capture, federal authorities reported that 31 people have been arrested and bound over for trial for their probable participation in the planning, execution, and cover-up of the assassination, while investigations continue to arrest the rest of the members of the criminal organization.

The post Mexico’s Old Judiciary Had Freed the Leader of Los Rs, Detained for the Murder of Carlos Manzo appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

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