The army arrested the local plaza boss of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, on Thursday.
Carlos Pelayo Núñez, known as “Don Carlos,” is believed responsible for supplying weapons and vehicles in Puerto Vallarta and central Jalisco, taking orders directly from cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho.”
The Defense Ministry (Sedena), assisted by the federal intelligence agency (CNI), tracked Don Carlos for some months. They detained him on a property in the affluent Vallarta Marina, nine kilometers northwest of the city center.
The operation involved 150 soldiers and agents from the federal Attorney General’s Office.
One resident was said they were disturbed by the level of commotion. “It looks like a war zone … here in the marina … helicopters circling from 3 a.m. and parked inside the golf course,” they wrote on Twitter.
The security forces confiscated a luxury car, weapons and drugs before transferring Don Carlos to Mexico City.
However, Puerto Vallarta is felt to be safe in relative terms: the latest National Survey on Urban Public Security, conducted by the national statistics agency Inegi, placed Puerto Vallarta as one of the safest cities in the country.
The arrest marks another victory for the government in its battle against the CJNG, which is widely thought to be the most powerful criminal organization in Mexico. In November, security forces arrested El Mencho’s wife Rosalinda González Valencia.
With reports from El Universal and Infobae
