Mexican Forces Capture Cartel Boss 'R2' Wanted by the US — Brother of Alleged Mayor's Assassin
Rafael Álvarez Ayala, accused of leading a CJNG cell blamed for a Mexican mayor's assassination and an avocado-extortion racket, was wounded and arrested in Jalisco with help from US intelligence.
Mexican naval forces captured a senior leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) over the weekend in an operation that Mexican officials say was aided by US drug intelligence, authorities announced Sunday.
Rafael Álvarez Ayala, known by the alias "R2," was wounded in a shootout and arrested in Zapopan, Jalisco, by the Mexican navy's Special Operations Unit working alongside the country's security secretariat, according to CBS News. He is receiving medical care, and 19 others were arrested alongside him.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration described Álvarez Ayala as a "senior leader of the CJNG terrorist organization" responsible for drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping. Mexico's Security Secretary, Omar García Harfuch, said the DEA shared intelligence that helped locate him, and the DEA confirmed he was wanted in the US on federal drug trafficking and firearms charges.
A cell tied to a mayor's murder
Álvarez Ayala led a CJNG cell known as "Los Rs," active in the states of Michoacán and Jalisco, which Mexican officials say funds itself largely through extortion of avocado and lime growers, ranchers and transporters — a racket detailed in Mexican outlet Milenio's reporting on the group.
His brother, Ramón "R1" Álvarez Ayala, was arrested by Mexican authorities in July on the same US charges and is accused of masterminding the November 2025 assassination of Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán — a killing that drew national attention to Los Rs' growing reach. Mexican officials say R2 took over day-to-day command of the cell after his brother's arrest.
A SENIOR CJNG LEADER RESPONSIBLE FOR "DRUG TRAFFICKING, EXTORTION, KIDNAPPING" — DEA
CJNG, led for years by the elusive Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes, has become one of the two dominant criminal organizations in Mexico, with a presence in nearly every Mexican state and reach into the US drug market. El Mencho himself was killed in a Mexican military operation in February, intensifying a succession fight that has drawn in commanders like the Álvarez Ayala brothers.
US prosecutors formally charged both R1 and R2 with drug trafficking in August, Mexican outlet Por Esto has reported. With R2 now also in custody, officials in both countries will be watching to see whether the arrests meaningfully disrupt Los Rs' operations — or whether, as with other CJNG cells, a new commander simply steps in.