Mexico Arrests 10 People Linked to Criminal Groups

What Happened?

Imagine a team of police officers playing a big game of "hide and seek" — but instead of kids, they were looking for very dangerous rule-breakers. On Sunday (July 19, 2026), the police in Mexico caught 10 people who are part of criminal groups.

A Big Catch in Nayarit

Among the 10 people arrested was a very important boss of a group called the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). This group is like a big, secret club that does bad things. The boss helped plan the group’s bad activities in two areas of Mexico: Nayarit and Tlaxcala.

• The arrested boss is named José Guadalupe Ahumada Villegas.
• His nickname is "M4".
• He was the leader who coordinated (or organized) the criminal work in those two states.

Where and How They Were Caught

Security agencies (the police and other safety groups) told everyone in a joint statement:

1. In the state of Nayarit, officers went to check 7 buildings.
2. These buildings were in two towns: Tepic and Xalisco.
3. Inside those buildings, they found and arrested the 10 people, including M4.

What the Arrested People Did

All 10 captured people are linked to doing many bad things, such as:

• Hurtiing or killing people (homicide)
• Taking people against their will (kidnapping)
• Forcing people to pay money with threats (extortion)
• Selling illegal drugs
• Stealing from trucks that carry goods (cargo theft)
• Selling guns
• Taking and selling oil or fuel illegally (hydrocarbon extraction and sale)

They are all members of the CJNG, which is a criminal organization (a group that breaks the law together).

What Was Taken Away From Them

When the police searched the buildings, they took away (this is called "decomisaron" or seized):

• 3 long guns
• 3 vehicles (cars or trucks)
• Several cell phones

Important Point: The CJNG is a criminal organization, meaning it is a group that works together to break the law in serious ways.

Another Arrest in Mérida

Before this big catch, Mexican police also arrested another person in the city of Mérida (the capital of Yucatán, in the southeast of Mexico).

• His name is Justo Aurelio Rivera Parrazales.
• He was supposedly the logistics and money manager for a different group called the Northeast Cartel.
• "Logistics and financial operator" means he helped move things around and handled the group’s money.

In that operation, police seized:

• 15 fancy, expensive vehicles
• Various other belongings
• All these things were worth more than 145 million pesos (about 8.2 million US dollars)

Summary

To wrap it up: Mexican authorities arrested 10 people tied to the CJNG cartel in Nayarit, including a top leader nicknamed "M4" who ran crimes in Nayarit and Tlaxcala. They also earlier caught a money/logistics man from the Northeast Cartel in Mérida and took away millions of dollars in stuff. These actions show police working to stop criminal groups.

FAQ

1. Who is "M4"?
M4 is the nickname of José Guadalupe Ahumada Villegas, a leader of the CJNG cartel who organized crimes in Nayarit and Tlaxcala.

2. What is a cartel?
A cartel is a criminal organization — a group of people who work together to do illegal things like selling drugs or weapons.

3. How many people were arrested in Nayarit?
Ten people were arrested there, including the cartel leader M4.

4. What did police find in the Mérida operation?
They found 15 high-end vehicles and other goods worth over 145 million pesos (around 8.2 million US dollars).