Taxco Official Arrested in Kidnapping of the Mayor’s Father: Guerrero Prosecutors Say the Silver Town’s Regulations Director Belongs to La Familia Michoacana and Deleted Call Records
A city official in Taxco, Guerrero, the colonial silver town southwest of Mexico City, has been arrested on charges of aggravated kidnapping in the April abduction of the mayor’s father. Guerrero state prosecutors say the official, Taxco’s municipal director of regulations, belongs to La Familia Michoacana, Proceso and Infobae reported on Oct. 17 and 18, 2026. Proceso names him as José Carlos Ortega Vara; prosecutors identify him only as José Carlos “N.” He has not been convicted.
What prosecutors allege
According to the Guerrero State Prosecutor’s Office (FGE), as reported by Proceso, federal and state forces arrested him on Friday, Oct. 16, under an arrest warrant from the FGE’s anti-kidnapping and anti-extortion unit. The Army, the National Guard, the federal Security Ministry (SSPC) and state police took part. Investigators allege that the day after the kidnapping he helped pass along information about it, and that he deleted communication records they consider important to the case. He was brought before a judge, who will rule on his legal status.
The April kidnapping
Juan Vega Arredondo, 68, director of the IMSS-Bienestar Adolfo Prieto hospital in Taxco and father of Morena mayor Juan Andrés Vega Carranza, was taken by armed men on April 11, 2026, Proceso and Infobae reported. His car was later found abandoned in Acamixtla. The mayor went missing two days later after setting out to find his father. Both were found alive in the State of Mexico. At the time, federal Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said La Familia Michoacana was behind both disappearances.
Accounts of the release differ. Proceso, citing its own sources, says both men were freed near Zacualpan after negotiations. It says the reported terms included freeing a criminal leader known as “El Goku.” Federal officials said at the time that the two had been located alive in a federal operation. Infobae says José Carlos “N” is the only person arrested so far for the father’s kidnapping.
A Taxco police officer is also in custody
Prosecutors also announced the arrest of Gerónimo “N,” an active Taxco municipal police officer accused of aggravated kidnapping in a separate case. Infobae, citing the FGE, says the victim was held in Paintla, Taxco, from July 6 to 21. It says the officer allegedly went there in uniform and in a patrol car, and that authorities also call him a La Familia Michoacana member. Neither source gives the date of his arrest.
Sources
- Proceso (Luis Daniel Nava), “Detienen a director de Reglamentos de Taxco por el secuestro del padre del alcalde,” Oct. 17, 2026
- Infobae (Alejandra Huitron), “Desde compartir datos a eliminar registros: el papel del director de reglamentos de Taxco en el secuestro del padre del alcalde,” Oct. 18, 2026
- Photos: Fiscalía General del Estado de Guerrero, via Infobae
Reported Oct. 18, 2026, from the Guerrero prosecutors’ statements as reported by the outlets above. The Narco Blog did not independently confirm the details. Both men are presumed innocent. Proceso’s report included no comment from the mayor or the city government.