Federal authorities on Thursday arrested Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, identified as the mastermind behind the Nov. 1, 2025, murder of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo.
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said Álvarez Ayala, aka “R1”, was apprehended in Atotonilco, Jalisco, during an operation carried out by the Security Ministry and Army Special Forces.
The midday operation included a high-speed car chase, resulting in a shootout, which forced residents to scatter and businesses to close.
One of Álvarez’s bodyguards was killed, and another arrested.
In a social media post, García Harfuch described Álvarez Ayala as the main leader of “Los R’s,” one of the most violent criminal cells linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), with operations in Apatzingán, Uruapan and Morelia in Michoacán, as well as in Jalisco.
García Harfuch said months of intelligence and investigative work, including statements from detainees, as well as intercepted telephone and text communications, revealed that Álvarez ordered the murder because Manzo’s anti-crime policies were considered “provocative” or insulting by the CJNG.
🔴 Así fue la detención de Jorge Armando “N”, alias El Licenciado
La Fiscalía de Michoacán confirmó la detención de Jorge Armando “N”, alias El Licenciado, identificado como uno de los autores intelectuales y uno de los líderes que planearon el homicidio de Carlos Manzo,… pic.twitter.com/qRtOmPhT8k
— Azucena Uresti (@azucenau) November 19, 2025
Manzo, the outspoken mayor of Michoacán’s second-biggest city, was murdered in Uruapan’s main square while he toured a Day of the Dead display. Manzo, who won election in 2024 as an independent candidate, gained national attention after declaring a zero-tolerance stance against organized crime in Uruapan, a municipality of over 367,000 people, and criticizing President Claudia Sheinbaum’s security policies.
Prior to that, Manzo served as a federal deputy in the ruling Morena party.
Grecia Quiroz, Manzo’s widow and his succesor as mayor of Uruapan, acknowledged the work of federal authorities in a statement: “Justice begins, but it’s not over yet,” she said. “I am convinced there is still much more to clarify, and I demand a serious investigation to get to the bottom of this.”
Quiroz has filed formal complaints against several Michoacán politicians, accusing them of being involved in her husband’s murder.
Among those she singled out are Senator Raúl Morón, former Governor Leonel Godoy, Manzo’s predecessor as mayor of Uruapan Ignacio Campos Equihua (who lost to Manzo in the 2024 election) and former Apatzingan Mayor Roldán Álvarez Ayala, R1’s brother.
Another Álvarez Ayala brother — Rafael, aka “R2” — is a lieutenant in the CJNG-linked “Los R’s” crime gang. Ramón and Rafael were arrested by the Army in 2012 only to be released in 2022. Harfuch described Rafael as the new leader of “Los R’s.”
Harfuch said 31 people have now been arrested in connection to Manzo’s murder, including three in February and two others in January.
With reports from El País, Proceso and La Jornada
