Yesenia Méndez Rodríguez, personal secretary to Uruapan's mayor Grecia Quiroz, was detained on January 8 in connection with the homicide of Carlos Manzo, former mayor and ex-husband of Quiroz, which occurred in November 2025. Authorities are probing her potential role in leaking information about Manzo's movements. However, social media posts suggest she may have been released after giving a statement.
On January 8, 2026, agents from the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) and the Michoacán State Prosecutor's Office detained Yesenia Méndez Rodríguez, also known as Yesenia 'N', in the office of Uruapan's mayor, Grecia Quiroz. This action is part of the probe into the assassination of Carlos Manzo, carried out on November 1, 2025, during Day of the Dead celebrations in Uruapan. Manzo, the mayor at the time and Quiroz's ex-husband, was shot despite having reinforced federal and municipal protection since 2024.
Suspicions against Méndez Rodríguez focus on her alleged facilitation of information about Manzo's schedule and movements. According to reports from outlets like Reforma, Jorge Armando 'N', alias 'El Licenciado' and presumed mastermind of the crime linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), pointed during his hearing to a 'very close person' to the mayor as a key source of data. Méndez Rodríguez had been Manzo's personal secretary since September 2024 and was praised by him in a July 2024 post as a 'prepared, responsible, and hardworking woman'.
After the detention, her name appeared in the National Detention Registry, confirming an arrest warrant. However, local media report she was not formally arrested but presented to the Public Ministry to testify at the Narcotics Investigation and Prosecution Unit. On January 10, Méndez Rodríguez posted on social media a photo with her daughters next to a Christmas tree, thanking for 'good wishes' and noting she was with her family, raising questions about a possible release.
Omar García Harfuch, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, has highlighted progress in the investigation: three attackers died (one at the scene and two on a highway), and 'El Licenciado', Ricardo 'N', Jasiel Antonio 'N' alias 'El Pelón', Gerardo 'N', and Alejandro Baruc 'N' were detained. Additionally, at the end of 2025, seven of Manzo's bodyguards were arrested. Uruapan suffers violence from groups like CJNG, Knights Templar, Los Viagras, United Peoples, and Whites of Troya. The assassination sparked nationwide protests over insecurity in Mexico.
