Another suspect has been arrested in connection with the Nov. 1 murder of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo in the western state of Michoacán, bringing to 10 the number of those apprehended in relation to the case.
Grecia Quiroz García, Manzo’s wife and his successor as mayor of Uruapan, said on Monday that state prosecutors informed her of the arrest of a man who allegedly participated in an instant messaging group used by a suspected network of hitmen linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
The CJNG is believed to have ordered the hit on Manzo, who won election in 2024 by promising to take on organized crime in Michoacán’s second-largest city.
“So far, the only information I’ve received is that they arrested one more person who was involved in the WhatsApp group,” Quiroz said. “I haven’t spoken with the attorney general yet, but hope to have a conversation with him in the coming days.”
Prosecutors did not issue a statement about the latest arrest.
Of the other nine suspects indicted for murdering Manzo, seven served as his bodyguards and are accused of homicide by omission.
The other two detainees are Jorge Armando Gómez Sánchez, alias “El Licenciado,” and Jaciel Antonio Herrera Torres, alias “El Pelón,” alleged members of the CJNG. Gómez is accused of masterminding the crime, while Herrera allegedly recruited three hitmen at the Renacimiento Addiction Rehabilitation Center in Uruapan.
In the chat through which the alleged perpetrators communicated, the hired guns exchanged messages in the hours before the attack, demonstrating how they tracked Manzo’s movements long before he arrived at the main square of Uruapan.
The young man who actually killed Manzo — a 17-year-old meth addict identified as Víctor Manuel Ubaldo — was shot dead at the scene by one of the mayor’s bodyguards after he had been apprehended.
The bodies of Ramiro Leal, 34, and Fernando Josué Leal, 16 — believed to have been Ubaldo’s accomplices — were found in early November on the Uruapan-Paracho highway. Prosecutors believe the CJNG murdered the two men.
Angered by the slow pace of the investigation, state Congressman Carlos Bautista is said to be considering requesting assistance from U.S. intelligence agencies.
Digital newspaper Político MX reported Sunday that Bautista may seek a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson in January.
“I will continue to urge the United States to help us clarify the facts surrounding the murder of Carlos Manzo,” Bautista said. “I will not rest until I have exhausted all possible avenues to find those responsible.”
State prosecutors maintain an arrest warrant against the head of Manzo’s security detail, Army Col. Manuel Jiménez, who managed to evade the operation carried out to arrest the other seven bodyguards.
With reports from Sin Embargo, LopezDoriga.com, Uno TV and Político MX
