Mayor, Ex-Mayor and 19 Others Arrested in Suchiapa, Chiapas — a Week After a Suspected Cártel Chiapas y Guatemala Member Escaped the Town Jail
Federal and state forces arrested the sitting mayor of Suchiapa, Chiapas, Jorge Lorenzo Lara Cordero, and his predecessor, Alexis Nucamendi Gómez, before dawn on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, along with 19 other people, including commanders and officers of the town’s municipal police, Mexico’s federal Security Cabinet said, as reported by El Universal, El Informador and Aristegui Noticias. The arrests come one week after a suspected Cártel Chiapas y Guatemala member escaped from Suchiapa’s municipal jail.
What the Security Cabinet says
According to the Security Cabinet statement cited by El Universal and El Informador, the 21 people are being investigated for possible abuse of authority, corruption and criminal association (asociación delictuosa). None has been convicted. The arrests are part of Operación Enjambre, the federal campaign against local officials accused of links to organized crime. El Informador reported that it had led to 111 arrests as of Sept. 8.
El Universal, citing the federal detention registry, reported that Lara Cordero was arrested at 5:29 a.m. at a home in Suchiapa’s San Esteban neighborhood. It reported that both men belong to Mexico’s ruling Morena party. Soldiers, the federal security ministry (SSPC), the federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and the National Guard took part, working with Chiapas state police and prosecutors. Gov. Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar wrote on social media that “the investigations are following their course according to the law,” Aristegui reported.
UnoTV’s video report on the arrests:
From a jailbreak to the mayor’s office
Aristegui Noticias said the arrests “have an immediate antecedent.” On Sept. 25, police arrested four people in Suchiapa’s Las Brisas neighborhood with 60 doses of crystal meth. One of them later escaped from the town jail. State prosecutors identified him as a suspected Cártel Chiapas y Guatemala member. Aristegui reported that police director Jesús Antonio “N” was arrested on Sept. 28. He is accused of taking part in the escape. Aristegui also reported that state police arrested four more alleged members of the group on Sept. 30 in the San Sebastián neighborhood, with 208 doses of crystal. El Bordo reported that the Oct. 3 operation grew out of the investigation that began with the police director’s arrest. Authorities have not publicly said what role, if any, the mayor or ex-mayor allegedly played in the escape.
A smuggling corridor near Tuxtla Gutiérrez
Suchiapa is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the state capital, Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Aristegui described it as an alternate route west for traffic from the Guatemalan border that avoids the capital. It reported that the Cártel Chiapas y Guatemala works with the CJNG in nearby Cintalapa. Aristegui counted Lara Cordero as at least the third sitting Chiapas mayor arrested over alleged criminal ties under the current state government.
Sources
- Aristegui Noticias (Ángeles Mariscal), “Detienen al alcalde y al exalcalde de Suchiapa, Chiapas,” Oct. 3, 2026
- El Universal, “Alcalde y exalcalde de Suchiapa, Chiapas fueron detenidos en Operación Enjambre,” Oct. 3, 2026
- El Informador, “Operación Enjambre en Chiapas: Detienen al presidente municipal de Suchiapa, a un exedil y a mandos de la policía,” Oct. 3, 2026
- El Bordo, “Detienen a alcalde y exalcalde de Suchiapa en Chiapas,” Oct. 3, 2026
- Photos: Gabinete de Seguridad del Gobierno de México, via El Universal. Video: UnoTV.
Reported Oct. 3, 2026, from the Mexican news outlets listed above, which cite a federal Security Cabinet statement. The Narco Blog has not independently confirmed the details. All 21 people arrested are presumed innocent.