An operation against Ángel Chávez Ponce, alias “El Camaleón,” a regional leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), left two people dead and resulted in a series of roadblocks and vehicle burnings in various parts of Michoacán and even Guanajuato.
The events took place in the town of La Cantera, in the municipality of Salvador Escalante, where Chávez Ponce operates. He is accused, among other crimes, of being responsible for the murder of the regional police commissioner of Pátzcuaro, Cristal García Hurtado, and her two bodyguards in March 2024.
The security forces’ incursion sparked a confrontation that lasted several hours and triggered the CJNG’s response with roadblocks and burnings to force El Camaleón to escape.
State authorities confirmed that roadblocks were set up in areas bordering Jalisco and even in Guanajuato, where armed civilians set fire to private and cargo vehicles.
They reported that the CJNG (Jalisco New Generation Cartel) set fire to at least 15 vehicles on state and federal highways in Pátzcuaro, Tzintzuntzan, Quiroga, Morelia, Huaniqueo, Ecuandureo, Zamora, La Piedad, Yurécuaro, Maravatío, Vista Hermosa, Ixtlán, Sahuayo, Chavinda, Chilchota, and Tangamandapio.
Security forces consulted by MILENIO revealed that one of the people killed was a relative of Heraclio Guerrero Martínez, alias El Tío Lako, a close associate of CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera, alias El Mencho.
In addition to the ground deployment, an air unit from the Public Security Secretariat was used, and the Army mobilized its anti-drone team in the municipality of Salvador Escalante, a stronghold of El Camaleón, who is still at large.
The state’s Secretary of Public Security, José Antonio Cruz Medina, reported that the road blockades had been removed, but operations continue.
The burning of two tractor-trailers reached Pénjamo, Guanajuato, where municipal police prevented damage to a third, which led to a direct attack with firearms, although no injuries were reported.
The incidents occurred at different points along the federal highway connecting Pénjamo with La Piedad. A driver identified as Ernesto told MILENIO that around 2 p.m., a CR-V cut him off, and five people with long guns got out.
“They forced me out of the tractor-trailer and started setting the vehicle on fire to block the highway,” he stated. El Camaleón has been a member of Los Viagras and Pueblos Unidos, where he operated as the armed wing of Los Caballeros Templarios, a cartel that splintered from La Familia Michoacana.
