Juchitán Ex-Mayor ‘Quetu’ Ordered to Stand Trial: After a Mid-Hearing Lawyer Switch, Judge Keeps Him in El Altiplano and Gives Prosecutors 3 Months in Alleged CJNG ‘Los Cromos’ Case
A judge has ordered Miguel Sánchez Altamirano, “Quetu,” the former mayor of Juchitán de Zaragoza in Oaxaca, to stand trial on charges of aggravated extortion and crimes against state security. He will stay in the federal Altiplano prison while prosecutors get three more months to build the case. Oaxaca Attorney General Bernardo Rodríguez Alamilla announced the ruling on the night of Sept. 29, El Heraldo de México Oaxaca reported. Prosecutors accuse Sánchez of ties to “Los Cromos,” a local gang they describe as an arm of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
A lawyer switch, a recess, then the ruling
The hearing began around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 29, before a state control judge. According to El Universal, Sánchez changed lawyers early in the hearing, which forced a recess. Proceedings resumed at 4 p.m. The judge sent both Sánchez and his co-defendant, Carlos Alberto P. L., “La Parka,” to trial. Both stay in pretrial detention. “La Parka” is held in the federal prison in Perote, Veracruz.
“Following the hearing before the control judge, we obtained the order to stand trial against M.S.A., alias ‘Quetu,’… and C.A.P.L., alias ‘La Parka,’” Rodríguez Alamilla wrote on X, according to El Heraldo de México Oaxaca. He said the ruling was possible because there is evidence supporting their “probable participation” in the crimes. On Sept. 30, El Universal reported that the judge gave prosecutors three months for further investigation.
What prosecutors allege
Oaxaca’s state prosecutor’s office alleges that Sánchez, “as a political-social actor,” took part in, encouraged and covered up criminal activity in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec because of his “close relationship” with Los Cromos, El Heraldo de México Oaxaca reported. Prosecutors link the gang to drug dealing, extortion, homicide, kidnapping and weapons offenses. In a Sept. 30 timeline, the same outlet reported the allegation that he gave the group political protection and access to the city’s C2 security cameras. These are allegations: a judge found enough evidence for trial, not guilt.
Who else is in the case
El Universal reported that Juchitán’s former police commissioner, Jhon Keny Moreno Segura, had his own hearing on whether to stand trial scheduled for Sept. 30. The result had not been reported when this article was written. The same outlet reported that former town secretary Mariano Rosado López is a fugitive. On Sept. 25, Oaxaca’s Congress dissolved Juchitán’s town government. On Sept. 26, firefighter chief and journalist Francisco Vásquez Jiménez was named interim commissioner to run the city, El Heraldo de México Oaxaca reported.
Sources
- El Heraldo de México Oaxaca (Rocío Mundo Espejel), “Vinculan a proceso a ‘Quetu’, exalcalde de Juchitán de Zaragoza, por extorsión y delitos contra la seguridad,” Sept. 29, 2026.
- El Universal (Juan Carlos Zavala), “Vinculan a proceso a exalcalde de Juchitán, Oaxaca, acusado de extorsión agravada,” Sept. 29, 2026.
- El Universal (Juan Carlos Zavala), “Dan 3 meses para investigación complementaria contra exedil municipal de Juchitán y La Parka,” Sept. 30, 2026.
- El Heraldo de México Oaxaca, “Crisis en Juchitán: qué pasó con Miguel Sánchez Altamirano, día a día,” Sept. 30, 2026.
- Photos: Especial (handout) and Cuartoscuro, via El Heraldo de México Oaxaca.
Reported Sept. 30, 2026, from the Mexican news reports listed above. The Narco Blog did not independently verify these accounts. Sánchez Altamirano and Carlos Alberto P. L. have not been convicted and are presumed innocent. The outcome of Moreno Segura’s hearing was not known at the time of writing.