A concert promoter alleged to be involved with a notorious drug cartel was gunned down in a shooting at a restaurant in the tony Mexico City neighborhood of Polanco on Wednesday afternoon.
The incident caught the attention of the U.S. Embassy which issued a security alert within hours of the shooting, urging U.S. citizens to “exercise caution and avoid the area if possible.”
Así fue el ataque a tiros en #Polanco contra “Chucho Pérez”, ex mánager del cantante Gerardo Ortiz.
Los sicarios se quitaron los cascos y preguntaron dónde estaba Jesús Pérez Alvear, concuño del “Mencho”, líder del CJNG. https://t.co/wyz5s1XhBM pic.twitter.com/IfJxSAwMAD
— Antonio Nieto (@siete_letras) December 5, 2024
Jesús Pérez Alvear was dining with three companions at the El Bajío restaurant in the Plaza Miyana mall when two men entered and approached the table. The suspects got within a few feet of their target, appeared to ensure his identity, then opened fire, hitting Pérez at least 10 times.
Pérez’s companions scurried out of harm’s way as other patrons dived under tables. The two gunmen ran out of the restaurant and fled the mall on a motorcycle. Pérez was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics shortly thereafter.
Later that night, the Mexico City police department announced that the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) would also be investigating the case. The National Guard and the Army were dispatched to the mall to secure the scene for FGR investigators.
Alleged cartel links
While Mexican authorities remain tight-lipped with regard to their investigation, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has alleged that Pérez has been laundering money for the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG).
A 2018 OFAC report states that “Perez has close ties to the family of [Abigael] Gonzalez Valencia, and focuses primarily on promoting concerts staged during large Mexican fairs, such as those held in Aguascalientes and Metepec.”
González Valencia, alias “El Cuini” was arrested in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, in 2015 on organized crime charges and was subsequently arraigned under the Kingpin Law after evidence that he was involved in international drug trafficking was presented.
González, the brother-in-law of CJNG leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, currently sits in a maximum security prison in México state awaiting extradition to the United States.
As a result of the Kingpin Law charges, the U.S. Treasury Department froze all of González’s assets in the United States as well as all assets attributed to alleged associates. Pérez is alleged to be one of the associates who was affected by the Department’s actions.
The Treasury investigation further alleges that Pérez used his connections with the CJNG — and threats of violence — to win contracts to stage concerts through his promotional company Gallistica Diamante, also known as Ticket Premier.
The OFAC sanctioned Pérez on April 6, 2018, accusing him of laundering cartel money by mixing it in with revenues from concert ticket sales, food concessions and parking fees.
The FGR has not mentioned a possible motive for Wednesday’s murder, but Infobae reported that in June 2023 Pérez allegedly admitted to U.S. authorities that he had conspired with the CJNG to break the law.
