Revenge for ‘El Rhino’s’ Arrest: Michoacán Prosecutors Say the CJNG Killed Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo — 33 Detained, 2 Alleged Masterminds in El Altiplano and an Army Colonel on the Run
Michoacán prosecutors said on Oct. 16, 2026, that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) killed Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo in revenge for his security crackdown. They pointed above all to the arrest of an alleged local CJNG boss known as “El Rhino.” Israel Vega Rodríguez, acting head of the Michoacán state prosecutor’s office (FGE), told a press conference that 33 people have been detained and the investigation is 90% complete, Milenio and Excélsior reported.
The motive prosecutors describe
Vega called the killing “a reprisal by organized crime for the security actions” Manzo carried out in Uruapan, Excélsior reported. La Crónica identified “El Rhino,” also called “El Chamuco,” as René Belmontes Aguilar, a CJNG plaza boss arrested on Aug. 27, 2025. According to La Crónica, the FGE said Manzo showed and insulted him in a Facebook live broadcast that the mayor later deleted. Manzo was shot dead on Nov. 1, 2025, during Uruapan’s candle festival, about two months after that arrest. Milenio reported that the alleged gunman was killed at the scene.
Who is accused
Prosecutors named two alleged masterminds, both now held in the federal El Altiplano prison, according to Excélsior. La Crónica identified them as Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, “El R-1,” leader of a CJNG cell group in Michoacán called “Los Rs,” and his alleged second in command, Jorge Armando Gómez Sánchez, “El Licenciado.” Other outlets used only their first names. La Crónica also reported an arrest warrant for José Manuel Jiménez Miranda, an Army colonel and Manzo’s former security chief, who it said escaped an operation in which seven of Manzo’s bodyguards were caught. Excélsior said other alleged participants are still at large. These are allegations, and none of the suspects has been convicted.
Politicians ruled out, for now
Manzo had publicly blamed Morena Sen. Raúl Morón, Rep. Leonel Godoy and former Uruapan Mayor Ignacio Campos for anything that might happen to him. La Crónica and Excélsior reported that Vega said there is so far no evidence that any of them, or any political motive, was behind the killing.
Milenio’s video report on the announcement:
Sources
- Milenio (César Cabrera), “FGE Michoacán confirma móvil asesinato Carlos Manzo fue ir contra CJNG,” Oct. 16, 2026
- Excélsior (Miguel García Tinoco), “CJNG asesinó a Carlos Manzo por detención de ‘El Rino’: Fiscalía de Michoacán,” Oct. 16, 2026
- La Crónica de Hoy (Suriel Terré), “Muerte de Carlos Manzo, venganza del CJNG, señala la Fiscalía de Michoacán,” Oct. 16, 2026
- IMER Noticias, “CJNG, detrás del asesinato de Manzo: Fiscalía de Michoacán,” Oct. 16, 2026
- Photos: Cuartoscuro file photo, via MVS Noticias. Video: Milenio.
Reported Oct. 16, 2026, from the Michoacán prosecutor’s statements as published by the outlets above. The Narco Blog has not independently verified the evidence, and the suspects are presumed innocent.