The Narco Blog

‘Poncho La Quiringua,’ Wanted by the U.S. With a $5 Million Reward Over Drug Shipments to Tennessee and Georgia, Ordered to Stand Trial in Mexico After a Psychotic Episode Delayed His Hearing

By The Narco Blog · October 16, 2026 · Updated October 16, 2026

U.S. State Department reward poster offering up to $5 million for Alfonso Fernández Magallón, alias Poncho, of Cárteles Unidos — U.S. State Department and HSI reward poster offering up to $5 million for Alfonso Fernández Magallón, “Poncho.” This image is not from his October court hearing. Image: U.S. Department of State, via Infobae.

Alfonso Fernández Magallón, known as “Poncho” or “La Quiringua” and described as the leader of Michoacán’s Cártel de Los Reyes, has been ordered to stand trial in Mexico on federal weapons and drug charges and will remain in the Altiplano maximum-security prison, Infobae reported on Oct. 16, 2026. The United States has offered up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

U.S. State Department photo of Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez, alias R5 or Wicho — Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez, “R5” or “Wicho,” in a U.S. State Department photo. Infobae reports he was killed by federal forces on Aug. 30. This photo is not from that event. Image: U.S. Department of State, via Infobae.

What the judge decided

According to Infobae, Judge Mario Elizondo Martínez of the federal criminal justice center in Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico, bound Fernández Magallón over for trial on charges of possessing a firearm reserved for the military and two drug offenses involving methamphetamine and cocaine. The judge ordered mandatory pretrial detention and gave investigators three more months.

The ruling came late. Infobae, citing court records reported by Reforma, says he suffered a psychotic episode on entering the Altiplano, and a forensic report found him unfit for an Aug. 9 hearing at which the two men arrested with him were processed on the same charges. A psychiatric exam on Aug. 18 found the condition had passed, the outlet said. He has not been convicted, and the outlet reported no plea.

The U.S. case

Infobae reports that a federal case filed in Washington, D.C., in July 2023 accuses him of conspiring to import drugs and of firearms offenses. It grew out of an HSI investigation into methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin shipped from Michoacán to Tennessee and Georgia, and became public in July 2025. Our Oct. 10 report, also citing Infobae, dated the U.S. charges to August 2025, when the State Department announced rewards for five Cárteles Unidos leaders. The State Department poster says he is sought for conspiracy to manufacture, import and distribute controlled substances in the United States.

Arrest, blockades and a new boss

Troops arrested him on Aug. 1 in Imbarácuaro, Los Reyes, with two other men, setting off road blockades and vehicle burnings in Los Reyes and Peribán, Infobae says. His reported successor, Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez, “R5,” was killed on Aug. 30 in a clash with the Army and National Guard in Tocumbo. Infobae now names Jesús Ochoa Chávez, “La Venada,” of Zamora, as the group’s leader.

Latinus video report on the Aug. 1 arrest:

Sources

Infobae México, “Vinculan a proceso a ‘Poncho La Quiringua’, líder del Cártel de Los Reyes: seguirá en el Altiplano”, Oct. 16, 2026.
Latinus, video report on the arrest of Alfonso Fernández Magallón (YouTube).
Photos: U.S. Department of State reward images, published by Infobae.

Reported Oct. 16, 2026, from the Infobae report above, which cites court records reported by Reforma; The Narco Blog did not review the court file or the U.S. charging documents. Fernández Magallón is presumed innocent in both countries.