▶ Watch Video: Explainer: Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel
Mexican authorities announced on Sunday the arrest of a powerful cartel’s regional leader who is wanted by the U.S.
The arrested suspect was identified as Rafael Alvarez, alias “R2,” who headed a Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) cell linked to homicides, drug trafficking and extortion of avocado industry entrepreneurs.
The CJNG was designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by the American government in 2025 and is known for its violent tactics and attacks on authorities.
It competes with the Sinaloa Cartel for drug trafficking into the United States, but since the death of its founder, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, in a military operation in February, several of its top leaders have been apprehended.
The drug gang operates in the states of Jalisco and Michoacan.
Alvarez is also linked to the killing a year ago of Carlos Manzo, a popular mayor known for the way he confronted organized crime.
Mexico’s navy released an image of Alvarez on social media after his arrest.
The kingpin was wounded in a shootout that broke out during the operation to capture him and is receiving medical care, Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said on X. Another 19 people were arrested along with Alvarez, he said.
The trafficker was located thanks to information shared by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Harfuch added.
The DEA said in a social media post that “R2” was wanted in the U.S. on federal drug trafficking and firearms charges, calling the suspect a “senior leader of the CJNG terrorist organization responsible for drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, and deadly violence across Mexico.”
The U.S. Justice Department said that R2’s brother Ramon Alvarez Ayala, alias “R1,” was arrested in Mexico earlier this year on the same charges.
The announcement comes just weeks after security forces in Mexico arrested an alleged CJNG leader who is accused by the U.S. of drug trafficking and a large-scale fuel smuggling operation. Officials said Ivan Cazarin Molina (a.k.a. “El Tanque”—meaning “The Tank”), was captured in the town of Zapopan in Jalisco state.
