Military documents obtained by the Guacamaya collective indicate the cartel operated in at least 19 municipalities by December 2021, with reported pressure on local officials and alleged links to a criminal network now under investigation.
An investigation published by EL PAÍS examines how the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) established a presence in Oaxaca’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec years before the latest arrests of alleged local criminal figures and municipal officials.
The report draws on military documents disclosed years after their creation by the Guacamaya collective, which indicate that the CJNG was present in at least 19 municipalities in the region by December 2021. The documents also describe pressure on local officials to facilitate criminal activity.
One example concerned the elected mayor of Matías Romero, a municipality near Juchitán. At a meeting on December 20, 2021, she reportedly described threats from a criminal group demanding access to municipal police patrol vehicles to transport weapons and drugs, along with payments and a recurring monthly fee. She also described extortion against business owners and residents who resisted criminal demands.
The investigation connects that historical pattern to the more recent arrests of former Juchitán mayor Miguel Ángel Sánchez Altamirano and Iván Sánchez, known as El Cromo or Comandante Cromo. Federal authorities have accused the former mayor of using his office to facilitate criminal activity. EL PAÍS reported that federal sources linked El Cromo’s arrest to investigations into the criminal structure associated with Sánchez Altamirano.
Los Cromos, the local criminal group associated with El Cromo, reportedly became known in Juchitán through threatening messages and alleged extortion. A local resident told EL PAÍS that the group initially targeted migrants traveling north through the region before extortion became a more prominent activity.
Authorities have linked Los Cromos to the CJNG, but the publication says officials have not explained the precise nature of the relationship or the hierarchy between the organizations.
El Cromo faces three homicide accusations, including an allegation involving the killing of a four-year-old girl. His group has also been accused of extortion, protection payments, retail drug sales, kidnapping and homicide in Juchitán, Tehuantepec, Salina Cruz, Ciudad Ixtepec and Matías Romero. These remain allegations reported in the article.
The investigation also traces a possible chronology behind the recent government action. On September 18, designer Elvis Guerra, who had dressed President Claudia Sheinbaum for Independence Day celebrations, reported an armed attack on her home. Sheinbaum announced protection for Guerra on September 21, and the president and Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch met with Guerra on September 23. The subsequent chain of arrests began that same day, according to the report.
The broader significance is the possibility that organized crime had penetrated local governance over several years, while authorities acted against the alleged network only after a sequence of more recent events. The reporting raises questions about the extent of the group’s reach, possible protection by officials and which further arrests may follow.
