A joint operation involving elite forces from the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) and federal security agencies is currently underway in the Tierra Caliente region—spanning the border areas of the states of Michoacán, the State of Mexico, and Guerrero—with the objective of locating and capturing Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga, known as “El Pez,” and his brother, José Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, known as “El Fresa.”
Federal authorities identify both men as the primary operational leaders of the criminal group La Nueva Familia Michoacana. This organization is alleged to control extortion schemes targeting businesses and the mining sector, oversee the international trafficking of narcotics, and carry out acts of violence in the southern and central regions of the country, including the forced dispossession of residents from their lands.
In parallel with these domestic operations, the United States Department of State—through its Narcotics Rewards Program (NRP) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)—has announced a combined reward of up to $8 million for credible information leading to the arrest or conviction of these two leaders.
Specifically, U.S. authorities have set a reward of up to $5 million for information regarding Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga (“El Pez”) and up to $3 million for information regarding José Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga (“El Fresa”). Legal charges filed in U.S. courts accuse the leadership of this criminal organization of conspiracy to produce, import, and distribute synthetic drugs and cocaine internationally; furthermore, they are subject to financial sanctions and the freezing of assets imposed by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The deployment of Mexican Army units continues on the ground through patrols along remote trails and in mountainous areas, complemented by aerial reconnaissance and interagency coordination with local prosecutors’ offices, all aimed at locating high-priority targets.
