Shot in the Head and Survived: Alleged Los Chapitos Boss ‘El Marce,’ Arrested in Cancún in 2025, Ambushed by Motorcycle Gunmen in Mérida — 2 Men Arrested
José Marcelino “N,” alias “El Marce,” whom Quintana Roo prosecutors arrested in Cancún in 2025 as the alleged leader of a Los Chapitos cell, was shot in the head outside a home in Mérida, Yucatán, on Friday morning and survived, Diario de Yucatán and Proceso reported on Oct. 2, 2026. Yucatán’s Public Security Secretariat (SSP) said two men were arrested within hours.
Two gunmen on a motorcycle
According to Diario de Yucatán, two gunmen on a motorcycle attacked him around 11 a.m. at Calle 32 and 79 in Montes de Amé in north Mérida, and a security camera recorded the shooting. Proceso said the video shows him being shot as he got out of a vehicle. Grillo de Yucatán reported that his wife drove him toward a hospital before police intercepted them.
SSP paramedics treated him and took him to a hospital, where authorities said he was stable and able to give information about the attack, Diario de Yucatán reported. The SSP, working with the state prosecutor’s office (FGE), said it had seized a car and a motorcycle linked to the attempted murder. It did not name the two men arrested, saying the information “is still being compiled,” La Jornada Maya reported. The SSP statement, as reported by La Jornada Maya and PorEsto, did not name the wounded man. The “El Marce” identification comes from the news reports.
Who is “El Marce”?
Azteca Quintana Roo reported that the Quintana Roo FGE announced his arrest in June 2025 in the Benito Juárez municipality, which includes Cancún. He was held on a 2023 warrant for the killings of four people, and police said they found suspected marijuana and crystal meth in his pickup. “José Marcelino ‘N’ is the leader of a criminal group generating violence,” prosecutors said at the time, according to Proceso.
Proceso described him as the alleged successor to Héctor Elías Flores Aceves, “El 15,” the Los Chapitos leader in Quintana Roo who Diario de Yucatán says was sentenced to 50 years in 2025. Diario de Yucatán instead says “El Marce” took over after Arturo Misael, “El Guamúchil,” was arrested in June 2026. It says his group is accused of drug dealing, credit-card cloning and extorting taxi drivers. Los Chapitos is a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Neither outlet could say how he came to be free and living in Mérida. None of the reports we reviewed say he has been convicted. For travelers, our Cancún and Tulum safety guide tracks cartel violence in Quintana Roo.
Sources
- Diario de Yucatán, “Quién es El Marce, ligado a Los Chapitos del Cártel de Sinaloa, herido en Mérida,” Oct. 2, 2026
- Proceso (Claudia V. Arriaga Durán), “Así intentaron ejecutar en Mérida a ‘El Marce’, presunto líder de Los Chapitos,” Oct. 2, 2026
- La Jornada Maya, “Detienen a dos hombres por el ataque armado en Montes de Amé,” Oct. 2, 2026
- PorEsto, “La SSP tiene dos detenidos por los sucesos que se registraron en Montes de Amé,” Oct. 2, 2026
- Grillo de Yucatán, “Detienen a dos sicarios tras la fallida ejecución de ‘El Marce’ en Montes de Amé,” Oct. 2, 2026
- Azteca Quintana Roo, “Capturan a ‘El Marce’, objetivo prioritario, por delitos contra la salud y homicidio en Benito Juárez,” June 9, 2025
- Photos: Gabriel Chan Uicab, via Diario de Yucatán
Reported Oct. 2, 2026, from the Mexican news reports listed above. The Narco Blog did not independently verify the allegations. Authorities have not publicly named the wounded man or the two men arrested, and “El Marce” has not been convicted of any crime.