Arrest Made in the Murder of Prominent Mexican Mayor Advocating for Anti-Crime Measures

Mexican law enforcement took a suspect into custody on Tuesday, accusing him of orchestrating a lethal attack at a public gathering earlier this month.

The individual, known as Jorge Armando N., was apprehended on Tuesday afternoon, according to Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s Secretary of Public Security, during a press briefing.

It is claimed that Jorge Armando N. managed a group within a criminal network via a secured messaging application, providing directives to monitor Uruapan's Mayor Carlos Manzo, trace his whereabouts, and execute the assault.

Officials disclosed that two men associated with this group, Fernando Josué N. and Ramiro N., were discovered deceased on a highway by November 10, supposedly to hinder the investigative progress.

On Wednesday, García Harfuch highlighted that Armando N. was one of the commanding figures in a notorious cell labeled as a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration earlier this year.

The assassination of Mayor Manzo occurred on November 1 during a public event in the heart of the city. Previously, Mexican authorities had announced the capture of two other suspects involved in the incident, as well as the death of one attacker, per the national security entity.

Having taken the mayoral office in September 2024, Manzo had occasionally participated in community patrols wearing protective gear. In a video from a June patrol, he urged the federal government to intensify its battle against violent crime.

The state of Michoacan has long been troubled by the violence of formidable drug cartels targeting the region’s agricultural producers for extortion.

Last month witnessed the death of a lime growers' leader in Michoacan, who had consistently condemned organized crime's interference with local farming activities.