1.5 Million Pesos for 7 Farmers Kidnapped From El Balcón, Guerrero: State Prosecutors Post a Reward as the Men Pass 19 Days in Captivity — Chapingo Graduates Press the Army to Search
Guerrero’s state prosecutors are offering up to 1.5 million pesos (about $80,000) for information that leads to the seven men kidnapped on Sept. 24 from the El Balcón ejido in Ajuchitlán del Progreso, Proceso reported on Oct. 9, 2026. On Oct. 13, day 19 of their captivity, Chapingo graduates in Guerrero urged Mexico’s Army, National Guard and federal search commission to step up the search, Quadratín Guerrero reported. Residents and the ejido blame La Familia Michoacana; no arrests have been reported.
The reward
The Guerrero Attorney General’s Office (FGE) announced the reward on the night of Oct. 8 through its special prosecutor’s office for missing persons, Proceso’s Luis Daniel Nava reported. The office says it is investigating a disappearance committed by private individuals and is working in the field and from its offices. Tips are taken confidentially in person in Chilpancingo or by call or WhatsApp at 733 100 5579 and 55 7442 3172, Proceso and El Independiente reported.
The announcement came a day after a video circulated showing six of the captives handcuffed and blindfolded in military-style clothing, saying they belonged to a rival group, Los Granados. The ejido says the clothing was not what the men wore when taken.
Who is missing
Quadratín Guerrero listed the seven as Everardo León Atanacio, 17; José Leodanis Medrano López, 24; Eulises Medrano López, 26; Isidro Brito Arriola, 32; (Domingo) Atanacio Quirino, 50; Fidel Quirino Atanacio, 54; and Nicolás Atanacio González, 74. An eighth captive, a 12-year-old boy, was freed on Oct. 1; residents said he carried a demand that the sierra communities let La Familia Michoacana take control of the territory.
Pressure on Mexico City
In a statement dated Oct. 12, the Guerrero chapter of the Asociación Nacional de Egresados de Chapingo, an agricultural university’s alumni group, asked the Interior Ministry, the Army, the National Guard and the National Search Commission to intensify the search on the ground. It called El Balcón a national and international reference for community forest management: “Los profesionales de la tierra no podemos permanecer indiferentes” (“We professionals of the land cannot remain indifferent”), Quadratín reported.
Authorities of the neighboring Los Bayados ejido sent President Claudia Sheinbaum a letter dated Oct. 8 asking her to rescue the men alive, capture the attackers and pacify the sierra, Quadratín and Proceso reported. Proceso also reported that transport workers blocked the entrance to Arcelia on Oct. 8 to keep state and federal forces out of the sierra. A federal judge in Iguala had already ordered a search “under presumption of life.”
Sources
- Proceso (Luis Daniel Nava), “Fiscalía de Guerrero ofrece millón y medio de pesos para localizar a siete campesinos desaparecidos,” Oct. 9, 2026
- Quadratín Guerrero, “Exige asociación al Gobierno intensificar búsqueda de 7 secuestrados,” Oct. 13, 2026
- Quadratín Guerrero (Gabriela Fernández), “Pide la Sierra de Ajuchitlán a Sheinbaum rescate de 7 secuestrados,” Oct. 9, 2026
- El Independiente, “Ofrecen 1.5 mdp para localizar a los siete campesinos desaparecidos en Ajuchitlán,” Oct. 9, 2026
- Photos: SSP Guerrero, via Proceso (Oct. 3, 2026); Luis Daniel Nava, via Proceso (Oct. 9, 2026)
Reported Oct. 13, 2026, from the outlets above. The La Familia Michoacana link comes from residents and the ejido; Guerrero authorities have not publicly named a suspect group or reported arrests. The dollar figure is an approximate conversion. This site is not publishing images from the captors’ video or the reward poster, which includes a minor.