Arrested, Then Handed Back by 7:35 p.m.: Morelos Prosecutors Free ‘El Güero Gym,’ Alleged Pueblos Unidos Leader, to Recover 3 Staff Held in Totolapan — Harfuch Vows to Re-Arrest Him
Morelos state prosecutors arrested José David “N,” alias “El Güero Gym,” in Totolapan on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, then handed him back hours later to win the release of three of their own staff, who had been seized by members of the group they tie him to, “Pueblos Unidos.” The three were freed at about 7:35 p.m., the Fiscalía General del Estado de Morelos said in a statement that night. On Tuesday, federal Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said the arrest was unplanned and promised that the man would be detained again, El Financiero reported.
What the prosecutor’s office says happened
The statement says the state’s high-impact crimes unit (FIDAI) and security ministry made the arrest during an anti-extortion operation. It called José David “N” a “generator of violence with regional influence” linked to Pueblos Unidos. “Cells” of that group then held three employees of the Fiscalía Regional Oriente. The three “were freed at around 19:35 hours … when the person detained hours earlier was handed over.” One staffer was hospitalized with a gunshot wound and was in stable condition. The office said the crimes “will not go unpunished.”
El Imparcial reported that the arrest set off road blockades and vehicle burnings in Totolapan, Tlayacapan, Yautepec and Atlatlahucan, including on the Mexico City–Cuautla federal highway. The statement did not list the charges against him, and it did not say what his legal status is now. He has not been convicted of any crime.
Milenio’s video report on the release and the blockades:
‘Not an operation to detain this person’
At President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Oct. 13 morning press conference, Harfuch said Morelos officials had gone to Totolapan on a prosecutor’s errand to recover some properties. “When they see this subject in flagrante, they detain him,” he said, according to El Financiero. “The force was not sufficient.” Sheinbaum defended the release: “They are decisions to save lives,” she said.
A separate crash
Four Morelos state police officers died Monday in a crash on the La Pera–Cuautla highway while responding to a call, according to the Morelos security ministry as reported by El Imparcial. The outlet said it has not been officially established that the crash was linked to the Totolapan events.
Sources
- El Financiero, “‘Güero Gym’, líder de Pueblos Unidos, fue capturado ‘de chiripa’ en Morelos, revela García Harfuch,” Oct. 13, 2026
- El Financiero, “Autoridades de Morelos hacen un ‘Culiacanazo’: Capturan y liberan al líder criminal de Pueblos Unidos,” Oct. 13, 2026
- El Imparcial, “Fiscalía de Morelos detiene a ‘El Güero Gym’, pero lo libera a cambio de tres agentes secuestrados por un grupo criminal en Totolapan,” Oct. 13, 2026 (includes the Morelos prosecutor’s Oct. 12 statement)
- El Imparcial, “Quién es El Güero Gym, tras ser detenido y liberado en Morelos luego de bloqueos y retención de agentes,” Oct. 13, 2026
- Video: Milenio
- Photos: Margarito Pérez Retana/Cuartoscuro, via El Financiero; Fiscalía General del Estado de Morelos, via El Imparcial
Reported Oct. 13, 2026, from the official statement and news reports above. The Narco Blog did not independently confirm the details. Authorities had not announced any arrests over the seizure of the three staff members at the time of writing.