La Nueva Familia Michoacana Map & Profile 2026: Leaders, Territory and U.S. Charges

What official records and reporting say about the La Nueva Familia Michoacana: who leads it, where it is reported to operate, and how the U.S. has targeted it. Territory and leadership change fast, so each item links to its source and shows dates as reported. Allegations are as stated by the source; people who are charged are presumed innocent until convicted.

All cartel profiles

Names and aliases

• The organization is known in Spanish as La Nueva Familia Michoacana and in English as the New Michoacán Family, abbreviated LNFM. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• The Hurtado Olascoaga brothers run a clothing line called 'Doble H' featuring fish and strawberry imagery — references to their aliases 'El Pez' (the Fish) and 'El Fresa' (the Strawberry) — as a brand for the organization. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]

Origins

• LNFM is the latest iteration of the La Familia Michoacana drug trafficking organization, per the February 2026 US intelligence overview. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• Treasury describes LNFM as the successor of the original La Familia Michoacana, which was designated in 2009 under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. [DueDiligence.support (republishing U.S. Treasury, Nov 17, 2022), 2022-11-17]

Leadership

• Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga, alias 'El Pez,' is LNFM's co-leader; he was sanctioned by Treasury in 2022, is designated an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Consolidated Priority Target, and carries a US reward of up to $5 million. He was a fugitive believed to be residing in Mexico as of April 2025 and is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-02-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• José Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, alias 'El Fresa' or 'La Fresa,' is LNFM's co-leader; he was sanctioned by Treasury in 2022 and carries a US reward of up to $3 million. He was a fugitive believed to be residing in Mexico as of April 2025 and is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-02-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• Josué Ramírez Carrera, alias 'El Tuerto,' is LNFM's financial leader and third-in-command, sanctioned by Treasury in 2024. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-02-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• Treasury identifies Rodolfo Maldonado Bustos as next-in-line behind the co-leaders; he controls drug trafficking routes from Ciudad Altamirano through the Zihuatanejo–Lázaro Cárdenas corridor and was indicted in the Northern District of Georgia in April 2017 for heroin conspiracy. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024-06-20]
• Uriel Tabares Martínez, alias 'El Médico,' is a sicario who works directly for both Hurtado Olascoaga brothers and holds a leadership role in the Guerrero corridor around Ciudad Altamirano. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024-06-20]
• Kevin Arzate Gómez, alias 'El K03,' is a key LNFM lieutenant with contacts along the Mexico–US border who negotiates the entry of drugs into the US and returns the proceeds to Mexico. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024-06-20]
• Euclides Camacho Goicochea, alias 'El Quilles,' moves significant quantities of drugs — particularly methamphetamine — to Houston, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia; he was indicted in the Northern District of Georgia in August 2017 on heroin conspiracy and money laundering charges. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024-06-20]
• Lucio Ochoa Lagunes is a key LNFM lieutenant who works directly for José Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga and leads a sub-plaza in Tlapehuala, Guerrero. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024-06-20]
• Ubaldo Hurtado Olascoaga is a senior LNFM leader involved in extortion and narcotics trafficking who oversees armed personnel and has illegally mined mercury and uranium for the organization; OFAC sanctioned him in April 2025. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-04-15]
• Adita Hurtado Olascoaga laundered LNFM drug proceeds through used-clothing stores along the Rio Grande Valley and trafficked arms from the United States into Mexico; OFAC sanctioned her in April 2025. She is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-04-15]
• Josué López Hernández is a key LNFM lieutenant with significant regional connections to other cartels, including the CJNG. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024-06-20]
• David Durán Álvarez is a key LNFM lieutenant known for sending drugs to Houston, Texas. He is presumed innocent. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024-06-20]

Allies and rivals

• LNFM uses commercial trucks and cooperates with other Mexican cartels to smuggle drugs into the United States, per the February 2026 US intelligence overview. (as of 2026-02-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• LNFM's main documented rival is the New Generation Jalisco Cartel (CJNG): the two clashed in Michoacán in May 2025, an engagement in which six civilian vehicles were burned. (as of 2026-02-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• LNFM also fights Mexican government officials and rival cartel members directly, including with drones and explosives. (as of 2026-02-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]

What it does

• LNFM smuggles cocaine, fentanyl — including 'rainbow fentanyl' marketed to children — heroin and methamphetamine into the United States. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• The DEA estimates LNFM is responsible for transporting, importing and distributing more than 36 metric tons of methamphetamine, 12 metric tons of Mexican heroin and 12 metric tons of cocaine into the US per year. [GlobalSecurity.org (republishing U.S. Department of State, Apr 15, 2025), 2025-04-15]
• LNFM's extortion of avocado and lime farmers in Michoacán is a major source of illicit revenue for the cartel. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• Beyond drugs, LNFM engages in migrant smuggling and trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, arms trafficking, illegal mining and extortion. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• LNFM produces fentanyl with smuggled precursor chemicals and pill presses at laboratories across Mexico, including Mexico City, Pineda, Santa Teresa, Ciudad Altamirano, Tejupilco, Arcelia, Cuernavaca, Culiacán, Guadalajara and Toluca. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024-06-20]
• LNFM's US trafficking routes run through Nuevo Laredo and Tamaulipas/Reynosa across the south Texas border via buses, with onward distribution to Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Tulsa, Chicago and Charlotte. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024-06-20]
• Treasury reports LNFM stages interrogation-style photos and videos to fabricate asylum claims for smuggled migrants, and forces some migrants to carry or sell drugs under death threats. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024-06-20]
• LNFM has used drones to drop bombs on its rivals and, through kidnappings, killings and extortion, terrorizes communities in Guerrero and Michoacán. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-04-15]

U.S. designations, sanctions and charges

• The US State Department designated LNFM as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity in February 2025, effective February 20, 2025. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• On November 17, 2022, OFAC first designated LNFM under E.O. 14059, together with co-leaders Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and José Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga. [DueDiligence.support (republishing U.S. Treasury, Nov 17, 2022), 2022-11-17]
• On June 20, 2024, OFAC sanctioned eight LNFM-linked individuals — Rodolfo Maldonado Bustos, Josué Ramírez Carrera, Josué López Hernández, David Durán Álvarez, Uriel Tabares Martínez, Kevin Arzate Gómez, Euclides Camacho Goicochea and Lucio Ochoa Lagunes — for fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024-06-20]
• On April 15, 2025, OFAC sanctioned four Hurtado Olascoaga siblings — Johnny, José Alfredo, Ubaldo and Adita — under the counterterrorism authority E.O. 13224 as well as E.O. 14059. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-04-15]
• On April 15, 2025, the State Department announced its first-ever Rewards for Justice offers tied to an FTO-designated cartel: up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and up to $3 million for José Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga. [GlobalSecurity.org (republishing U.S. Department of State, Apr 15, 2025), 2025-04-15]
• Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga was designated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force as a Consolidated Priority Target (CPOT) — one of the most prolific drug trafficking threats in the world — before the 2025 indictment. [U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia, 2025-04-15]
• The DEA's 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment includes an overview of the New Michoacán Family among the cartels designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and SDGTs. [U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (via Cannabislaw.report mirror), 2025-05-15]

Key events

• In May 2025, LNFM and the CJNG clashed in Michoacán in fighting that left six civilian vehicles burned. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• In March 2021, LNFM ambushed and killed 13 police officers in Coatepec Harinas, State of Mexico. [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• The State of Mexico Attorney General's Office offered up to 500,000 Mexican pesos for information leading to the capture of Johnny and José Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga. [DueDiligence.support (republishing U.S. Treasury, Nov 17, 2022), 2022-11-17]
• A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia charged both Hurtado Olascoaga brothers in September 2024 with heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking conspiracies; the indictments were unsealed on April 15, 2025. Both brothers are presumed innocent. [U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia, 2025-04-15]

Where it operates in Mexico

• LNFM is based primarily in Michoacán and Guerrero, with presence also in Mexico City, Morelos, Puebla and the State of Mexico. (as of 2026-02-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]
• Treasury reports LNFM operates in approximately 35 Mexican municipalities across Michoacán, Guerrero, Morelos and the State of Mexico, and continues expanding into other regions. (as of 2026-09-30) [DueDiligence.support (republishing U.S. Treasury, Nov 17, 2022), 2022-11-17]
• A group known locally as the Nueva Familia Michoacana is reported active in parts of Guerrero and Michoacán, extorting avocado producers alongside other criminal groups. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-14]
• The February 2026 US intelligence overview estimates LNFM's membership at approximately 5,000 members. (as of 2026-02-01) [Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Counterterrorism Guide, 2026-02-01]

Reported U.S. footprint

• LNFM laundered drug proceeds through used-clothing stores along the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and trafficked arms from the United States into Mexico. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025-04-15]
• LNFM's US distribution network reaches Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Tulsa, Chicago and Charlotte via the Nuevo Laredo and Tamaulipas/Reynosa crossings into south Texas. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2024-06-20]
• An Atlanta-based money laundering ring was charged alongside LNFM's co-leaders in the September 2024 Northern District of Georgia indictment. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia, 2025-04-15]

Reported presence by Mexican state

La Nueva Familia Michoacana in the United States

States with specific evidence: Georgia, Texas.

Federal cases since 2024 whose release names the group: 4.

Cartels in the U.S.: map and state-by-state evidence →

Latest La Nueva Familia Michoacana coverage

• Sentenced to 30+ Years in 2021, Free by 2026: Michoacán Police Kill ‘El Mansito,’ Alleged CJNG Extortion Boss, in Morelia Shootout Sep 27, 2026

Read every Narco Blog story about the La Nueva Familia Michoacana →

Last reviewed: September 30, 2026. Territory, leadership and advisories change; tell us about errors via our corrections page.