Uruapan, in Michoacán, one of the main avocado export hubs, is a municipality plagued by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which combines territorial control, extortion, and a display of force to suppress rival criminal organizations.
Although cells of Los Viagras, remnants of the Knights Templar, Pueblos Unidos, and Los Blancos de Troya also operate there, victims’ reports point to the CJNG as the terror, wielding extortion, controlling orchards, trafficking, and street-level drug dealing.
Despite the constant killings of its leaders, the CJNG maintains offensive and operational capacity to control logistical corridors for various products, but primarily avocados.
Despite the constant killings of its leaders, the CJNG maintains offensive and territorial control capabilities to manage logistical corridors for various products, but primarily avocados.
In 2024 and 2025, police operations against cells of this organization were reported in the municipality, confirming its continued operation.
Just this past October, El Gárgola, the alleged regional leader of the CJNG, was killed in a confrontation with police. The mayor, Carlos Manzo, who was murdered on Saturday, reported at the time that the individual was identified as one of the main instigators of violence in the region.
According to information obtained by the mayor, El Gárgola was allegedly linked to illicit activities such as executions, vehicle theft, extortion, drug dealing, kidnappings, and others.
Manzo had reported threats from the CJNG and requested federal support to confront the local cartels; after the attack, there were arrests and one assailant was killed. The murder exposes the direct pressure exerted by these organizations on the municipal government and the fragility of its protective measures.
Months earlier, the mayor himself had warned about training camps equipped with weapons restricted to military use and the involvement of foreigners in the CJNG’s criminal network.
According to this criminal structure, the CJNG maintains a strong presence in the community, with cells dedicated to drug dealing and organized crime, to the point of fighting for control of neighborhoods, access to strategic towns, and routes to the Siglo XXI highway.
Recent arrests and seizures have positioned the CJNG as a major criminal player in Uruapan.
