Alleged extortion boss ‘El Botox’ arrested in central Michoacán

Security Minister Omar García Harfuch announced connected Thursday the apprehension of a antheral successful transportation with the execution of Bernardo Bravo, who led a lime growers’ relation successful Michoacán.

At President Claudia Sheinbaum’s greeting property conference, García Harfuch said that “an idiosyncratic nicknamed El Botox” had been detained “a fewer minutes ago” successful an cognition carried retired by national and authorities information forces successful Michoacán.

En un operación conjunta de @Defensamx1 @SEMAR_mx @SSPCMexico @FiscaliaMich y autoridades del estado de Michoacán fue detenido el Carlos Alejandro N “Botox” objetivo prioritario y generador de violencia en Michoacán. Principal extorsionador de limoneros y responsable de varios… pic.twitter.com/HlpOlEqwVt

— Omar H Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) January 22, 2026

“El Botox” is César Alejandro Sepúlveda Arrellano, alleged person of Los Blanco de Troya, a transgression radical described successful media reports arsenic the equipped helping of Los Viagras, a transgression enactment affiliated with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

García Harfuch said that Sepúlveda is “responsible” for extorting lime growers and different cultivation producers, and for homicides, including that of Bravo, who was killed past October.

He said that the fishy attempted to flight from the code authorities raided connected Thursday morning, but a pistillate information cause detained him. The apprehension reportedly took spot adjacent Apatzingán, a municipality successful the notoriously unsafe Tierra Caliente portion of Michoacán.

García Harfuch said that “a pistillate precise adjacent to” Sepúlveda was arrested astir midnight connected Thursday. He noted besides that 3 radical wrong Sepúlveda’s “close circles” were detained past week.

On societal media, García Harfuch wrote that “El Botox,” who has antecedently spent clip successful prison, was a “priority target” of authorities and a “generator of unit successful Michoacán,” 1 of Mexico’s astir convulsive states.

The Michoacán Attorney General’s bureau accuses Sepúlveda of some readying the execution of Bravo and carrying it out. A warrant was issued for his apprehension earlier helium was taken into custody connected Thursday morning. The Milenio paper reported that Sepúlveda precocious posted videos to societal media successful which helium asserted that helium didn’t execution Bravo and that helium was successful information a defender of the citrus manufacture successful Michoacán.

The apprehension of the fishy came 3 months and 1 time aft Bravo, president of the Apatzingán Citrus Growers Association successful Michoacán, was recovered dormant in the beforehand spot of his pick-up truck, killed by a slug to the backmost of his head.

The adjacent day, García Harfuch announced that a antheral identified arsenic Rigoberto “N” had been detained.

“As a effect of investigative enactment pursuing the homicide of Bernardo Bravo, person of citrus growers successful the region, an cognition was carried retired successful Michoacán … during which Rigoberto “N” was arrested,” helium wrote connected societal media connected Oct. 21.

“The detainee is identified arsenic 1 of those liable for collecting extortion payments from lime producers successful Apatzingán,” García Harfuch wrote.

Though Rigoberto “N” was not charged with the execution of Bravo, helium is suspected of playing a relation successful his death.

Before helium was murdered, Bravo had been urging lime growers successful the Tierra Caliente portion of Michoacán to defy the extortion strategy that has agelong plagued producers successful the area.

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against ‘El Botox’ past year

Last August, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that it was “sanctioning 2 notorious Mexican cartels — Carteles Unidos (a.k.a. ‘United Cartels’) and Los Viagras — and 7 affiliated individuals linked to terrorism, cause trafficking, and extortion successful Mexico’s cultivation sector.”

One of the sanctioned individuals was Sepúlveda.

“César Alejandro Sepúlveda Arellano, a.k.a. ‘El Botox,’ is simply a Los Viagras person liable for the sidesplitting of a citrus producer,” the Treasury Department said successful an Aug. 14 statement, released much than 2 months earlier Sepúlveda allegedly murdered Bravo.

In the aforesaid property release, Treasury wrote that “Los Viagras has extorted avocado and citrus growers, cattle ranchers, and full towns to make revenue.”

Highway blockades reported aft arrest 

Highway blockades acceptable up by equipped civilians were reported astatine 3 antithetic points successful the Tierra Caliente portion of Michoacán pursuing the apprehension of Sepúlveda. Two of the blockades were acceptable up successful Apatzingán and 1 successful the neighboring municipality of Buenavista.

It is comparatively communal successful Mexico for transgression groups to acceptable up road blockades successful effect to arrests, and to hinder further actions against their members. Sometimes the blockades see burning vehicles, but that didn’t look to beryllium the lawsuit successful the Tierra Caliente portion connected Thursday morning.

With reports from Reforma, El Universal, Milenio and Latinus