Escorts from Mencho transferred to the Altiplano at dawn

Two alleged escorts of 'Mencho' enter the maximum security prison in a high-deployment night operation.

Publicado 25 febrero, 2026 el 25 de febrero a las 16:05 | 2 mins reading |3,710 vistas | por Carlos Méndez

Silent operation under the moon

At 4:40 in the morning, when the city was still sleeping, a ghostly convoy passed through the gates of Cefereso No.1 in Almoloya de Juárez. An armored vehicle ‘Rino’ of the National Guard, escorted by six patrol cars, brought delicate cargo: Andrés ‘N’ and Genaro ‘N’, two men whose full names the authorities keep in reserve.

The scene had all the drama of a spy movie. These are not just any detainees. On the official radar, they appeared identified as alleged personal escorts of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, ‘El Mencho’, the fugitive mastermind of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

From the operation in Jalisco to the cell in the Altiplano

His journey to the maximum security prison began hours before, in Mexico City. Everything moved with military precision. At 2:20 a.m., they left the facilities of the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (FEMDO).

A judge had already ordered informal preventive detention. The defense tried to buy time by asking for ‘duplicity of the constitutional term’, but there was no case. After a remote hearing, the fate was sealed: ‘The Altiplano’.

The charges are serious: aggravated carrying of weapons and possession of accessories and chargers for the exclusive use of the army. They were arrested last Sunday in Jalisco, in an operation of which few details have yet been leaked.

While these two enter the system, there is another name that remains in legal limbo: Rubén ‘N’. The FGR reports that it received a formal request from his relatives to recover his body. The authorities say they are complying with all protocols to deliver the remains.

This night transfer is not a routine act. It is a coded message, a play on the infinite board against organized crime. Putting alleged collaborators so close to the most wanted leader in the same prison that has housed drug lords like ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán is pure theater. The audience sees the final act; We journalists try to decipher the essays.

National

FDA recognizes false positive in Taylor Farms lettuce

Cofepris analysis rules out contamination; FDA admits error in initial sample.

Publicado 10 hours ago el 23 de julio a las 22:34 | 1 min reading

Analysis results

The Ministry of Health reported that tests carried out on lettuce and water samples from the Taylor Farms Mexico plant were negative for the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis —which causes severe diarrhea— and also for fecal coliforms. The analyses, carried out by Cofepris, confirmed that the product complies with the physicochemical parameters established in national standards.

Traceability and false positive

Taylor Farms has a traceability system that allowed United States authorities to identify the origin of the product and track a batch held at customs in Laredo, Texas. That batch never entered US territory.

The sample obtained from that batch returned a false positive, a situation that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognized in an update published on July 19. The Ministry of Health emphasized that the product is suitable for human consumption.

National

UIF identifies 55 people in the CJNG financial network

The FIU detected 55 people linked to a CJNG financial network, including 16 front companies.

Publicado 11 hours ago el 23 de julio a las 21:08 | 2 mins reading

The Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) of Mexico detected 55 people allegedly linked to a financial network of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The finding was achieved through specific financial indicators, as reported by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP).

Release 61 details that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury designated 55 people – 39 individuals and 16 legal entities – related to this structure. The action is part of bilateral cooperation against the finances of organized crime.

Indicators detected

The FIU identified “indicators related to possible operations with resources of illicit origin.” Among them: cash operations, acquisition of high-end vehicles, jewelry and real estate, international transfers, intensive use of credit and service cards, and inconsistencies in income reported to the SAT.

The authorities detected “possible inconsistencies between the income reported to the tax authority and the resources observed in the financial system,” which strengthened the identification of the network.

Front companies and complaints

Of the total, 16 legal entities had illegal activities. According to the FIU, some registered relevant operations, while others were front companies with “limited or no apparent economic activity.”

The UIF filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) for the crime of operations with resources of illicit origin. It also included the subjects designated by OFAC on the List of Blocked Persons (LPB), and added eight additional ones—four individuals and four legal entities—linked to the same financial structure.

International coordination

The Treasury stressed that the coordinated actions with the United States seek to “prevent improper use of the financial system, combat money laundering and weaken the economic structures of organized crime.” The FIU maintains cooperation with national and international authorities, in accordance with the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

National

US Treasury locates Florence as a drug production center

The Treasury Department identified the Zacatecas municipality as the CJNG base for fentanyl and cocaine.

Publicado 11 hours ago el 23 de julio a las 20:44 | 2 mins reading

The United States Department of the Treasury identified Florencia de Benito Juárez, Zacatecas, as one of the key points of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) to manufacture fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.

According to the agency, José Octaviano García Martínez is the current head of the plaza in the area, accompanied by Cuauhtémoc Rivera Zepeda and Uriel Hernández Morales. These last two would be in charge of the clandestine laboratories in Zacatecas and Jalisco. All three report to Audias Flores Silva—alias El Jardinero—, designated as successor to the late leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, El Mencho.

Criminal presence in a small municipality

Florencia de Benito Juárez barely covers 328 square kilometers in the south of the state, in the Sierra Madre Occidental, adjacent to Jalisco. Despite its size, the municipality has been the scene of organized crime operations.

In March 2025, authorities dismantled a camp used by a criminal cell. Months later, in June, they destroyed a greenhouse used for growing marijuana. Both operations sought to neutralize illegal infrastructure.

The municipal president elected in 2024 is Fortino Cortés Ramírez, who will conclude his term in 2027.

Recent violence and federal response

On Saturday, July 18, 2025, 10 bodies were found in the municipalities of Morelos, Pánuco and Sain Alto. Of the victims, six were construction, mining and entertainment businessmen. Two others were officials of the Fresnillo city council: Fidel Alvarado de la Torre, secretary of Municipal Social Development, and firefighter Jesús Gerardo Muñetón Hernández.

Given these events, the Secretariat of National Defense deployed 100 Special Forces elements on July 22. They joined the 400 Army and National Guard troops who had already been operating since July 19. They carry out ground reconnaissance and deterrent actions in Zacatecas, Guadalupe and Fresnillo.

The conflict in the region is not new. On May 20, 2011, a clash between rival groups—known as The Florence War—left 77 people dead. The journalist Alfredo Valadez Rodríguez documented this episode in the book of the same name, published by Ediciones Proceso in 2021.