Miguel Sánchez Altamirano (Morena), the mayor of Juchitán de Zaragoza, was arrested yesterday for extortion and alleged links to the criminal group “Los Cromos”—an operational arm of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region—as part of “Operation Swarm” (Operación Enjambre).
Alongside Sánchez Altamirano—also known as Miguel Quetu—Navy personnel arrested Alberto de la Paz López, alias “La Parca,” who is implicated in serious crimes.
The operation prompted Juchitán municipal police officers to block the municipality’s main highway access points and attempt to storm the military airbase in Ciudad Ixtepec—where the detainees had been taken—in an effort to free them. This forced the Navy to block the access road to the military airbase.
Following these events, the mayor and “La Parca” were airlifted to Mexico City.
On social media, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), Omar García Harfuch, reported that Miguel Sánchez is linked to crimes involving aggravated extortion and other offenses that threaten state security.
These crimes, he specified, include extortion and the forced collection of “protection fees” from merchants and business owners, small-scale drug dealing, human trafficking, and homicide, as well as protection schemes that allegedly facilitated the operations of criminal groups in the region.
He added that the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) had frozen assets and blocked the accounts of individuals linked to this investigation.
“Investigations and operational actions are ongoing to completely dismantle this criminal structure and arrest everyone involved. We will continue to provide updates as further arrests are made,” García Harfuch stated. For its part, the Oaxaca Attorney General’s Office links Miguel Sánchez to the criminal cell “Los Cromos,” identified as an operational arm of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region.
