Week of terror for Los Chapitos with key losses

In late December 2025, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, leader of Los Chapitos, faced several blows: the murder of close collaborators and arrests of family members. These events include the killing of Oscar Medina 'El Panu' in Mexico City and the capture of his father-in-law and brother-in-law in Jalisco.

The week of December 21 to 25, 2025, marked a turbulent end for Los Chapitos, the Sinaloa Cartel faction led by Iván Archivaldo Guzmán. On Sunday the 21st, Oscar Medina, alias 'El Panu', was killed in a shooting at the Luau restaurant in Mexico City's Zona Rosa. There were initial doubts about his identity, but the Mexico City Attorney General's Office confirmed it on Thursday the 25th through fingerprint analysis. "Through fingerprint examinations, the victim's identity was confirmed, identified as a presumed member of the criminal group Los Chapitos," the agency reported.

On Wednesday the 24th, the murder of Alan Gabriel Núñez, a Los Chapitos operator, was reported in a Culiacán, Sinaloa subdivision. His body, with bullet wounds and hands tied, was identified by family at the Forensic Medical Service. The DEA had offered a $1 million reward for him, accused of trafficking fentanyl to the United States.

That same day, César 'N', alias 'El Valdo', a key operator, received a 20-year prison sentence for organized crime in a Hermosillo, Sonora court. Detained in April 2023 in Culiacán, he participated in the 2019 'Culiacanazo' that temporarily freed Ovidio Guzmán.

The most personal blow came with the arrest in Zapopan, Jalisco, of Mario Lindoro 'N', 69 (Iván's father-in-law, alias 'El Niño'), and Mario Alfredo 'N', 44 (brother-in-law, alias 'El 7'). Both financial operators are the father and brother of Zulema Aracely Lindoro, Iván's wife. The Attorney General's Office (FGR) secured preventive detention for health crimes (methamphetamine and fentanyl), possession of exclusive military weapons, and money laundering. The operation seized seven bags of drugs, four short firearms, cartridges, magazines, vehicles, a motorcycle, phones, and cash. They were transferred to Puente Grande.

These incidents recall previous patterns, such as Ovidio Guzmán's arrest on January 5, 2023, during Christmas holidays in Culiacán, following an operation with a helicopter and shootouts.

Relaterte artikler

Split-image illustration contrasting official helicopter death claim with El Mencho's death certificate citing gunshots in Tapalpa, Jalisco.
Bilde generert av AI

Death certificate contradicts official account of El Mencho's death

Rapportert av AI Bilde generert av AI

The death certificate of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias 'El Mencho' and leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), records his death on February 22, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. in Tapalpa, Jalisco—from gunshot wounds—contradicting federal officials' claim that he died during aerial transfer after a joint Mexico-US operation there. The body was released to family for burial.

Jalisco authorities transferred Mario Lindoro Elenes and Mario Alfredo Lindoro Navidad, father-in-law and brother-in-law of Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, from Puente Grande prison to a higher-security federal facility. The move involved 14 other high-profile inmates linked to organized crime. This action follows recent security incidents in state prisons.

Rapportert av AI

Mexican authorities have confirmed that Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, 'El Mencho' and leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), died on February 22, 2026, from gunshot wounds to the abdomen, thorax, and lower limbs sustained in a military confrontation in Tapalpa, Jalisco. He succumbed at 10:30 a.m. aboard a helicopter evacuating him to Mexico City. Updates include details on his death certificate, body handover, potential successors, and ongoing violence.

Dette nettstedet bruker informasjonskapsler

Vi bruker informasjonskapsler for analyse for å forbedre nettstedet vårt. Les vår personvernerklæring for mer informasjon.
Avvis