Federal and state security forces on Wednesday arrested the mayor of Juchitán, Oaxaca, and another man on charges of aggravated extortion and crimes against state security. The arrests triggered road blockades and protests in Juchitán, located on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
The federal Security Ministry (SSPC), Security Minister Omar García Harfuch and the Oaxaca Attorney General’s Office (FGEO) all announced the arrests of Miguel Sánchez Altamirano, a Morena party mayor, and Alberto de la Paz López, a man known as “La Parca” (or “La Parka).
En el marco de la política de Cero Impunidad instruida por la Presidenta @Claudiashein, durante un despliegue operativo en Oaxaca, elementos de @SEMAR_mx, @SSPCMexico, @Defensamx1, @FGRMexico y @GN_MEXICO_, en coordinación con la @FISCALIA_GobOax y @SSPC_GobOax, detuvieron a… pic.twitter.com/6xlOskXAh7
— Omar H Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) September 23, 2026
The SSPC said in a statement that the arrests were carried out “within the framework of Operativo Enjambre” (Operation Swarm), a federal security strategy aimed at combating collusion between organized crime and municipal government officials.
“As part of an investigation into a criminal network linked to extortion, … small-scale drug dealing, human trafficking … and homicides — as well as protection schemes that allegedly facilitated the operations of members of criminal groups — agents pursued various lines of inquiry,” the Security Ministry said.
“As a result of these efforts, Miguel ‘N,’ the mayor of Juchitán de Zaragoza, and another person were identified. Both had active arrest warrants for … aggravated extortion and crimes against state security. Consequently, an inter-institutional operation was launched, during which both men were arrested,” the SSPC said.
The FGEO described the arrests as a “head-on strike against criminality.”
In a statement, the state Attorney General’s Office said that Sánchez, mayor of Juchitán since late 2022, is linked to a criminal group called Los Cromos. It said that the group — of which de la Paz is an alleged member — “functions as an operational arm” of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
The FGEO said that “intelligence work” determined that the mayor “participated in, promoted, and covered up criminal activities in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, due to his close relationship and strategic ties with” Los Cromos.
Juchitán, a city of around 115,000 people, is located near the southern coast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico’s narrowest stretch of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
From Ciudad Ixtepec, also located on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, both Sánchez and de la Paz were transferred to Mexico City on a Mexican Navy plane. They are currently in prison pending initial court appearances.
UIF blocks accounts of people linked to Juchitán investigation
García Harfuch said in an X post that the Finance Ministry’s Financial Intelligence Unit froze assets and blocked bank accounts of people linked to the investigation that led to the arrest of Sánchez and de la Paz.
He subsequently thanked the government of Oaxaca and Governor Salomón Jara for their “ongoing collaboration and coordination” with federal authorities.
“Investigations and operational actions to completely break up this criminal structure and detain all those involved are continuing,” García Harfuch wrote, referring to Los Cromos.
“As new arrests are made, we will continue to report,” he wrote.
An angry response in Juchitán
The arrest of Sánchez and de la Paz on Wednesday morning sparked a hostile reaction in Juchitán.
The Reforma newspaper reported that main roads were blocked and protests were held in Juchitán. The newspaper wrote that moto-taxi drivers, Juchitán residents and even municipal police officers joined the protests.
At one point on Federal Highway 185, moto-taxi drivers and residents laid tires across the road and set them on fire to block traffic and “demand the release of Sánchez Altamirano,” Reforma reported.
La Jornada reported that Juchitán moto-taxi drivers were involved in a drug-dealing and extortion scheme allegedly led by de la Paz and allegedly protected by the city’s mayor.
🚨 Bloquean accesos a Juchitán de Zaragoza, Oaxaca, tras la detención del alcalde Miguel ‘Quetú’
Su detención forma parte de una investigación contra una estructura criminal a la que las autoridades relacionan con distintos delitos, entre ellos extorsión y cobro de piso a… pic.twitter.com/oRmJwl2RB0
— Milenio (@Milenio) September 23, 2026
Citing “sources close to the operation” and local media reports, Reforma reported that police officers “closed off the city’s entry and exit points following the arrest of their own mayor.”
If their goal was to prevent the transfer of Sánchez and de la Paz to Ciudad Ixtepec, where a military airport is located, they failed.
The Juchitán mayor is among more than 100 municipal officials who have been detained since Operación Enjambre began in late 2024. Among the other mayors who have been arrested are the mayor of Tequila, Jalisco, who was detained on extortion charges in February, and the mayor of Atlatlahucan, Morelos, who was taken into custody in May.
García Harfuch said earlier this year that the arrest of officials is part of the government’s commitment to “zero impunity.”
When there is proof that a current or former official has committed a crime, he or she will be “investigated and arrested” no matter what political party he or she belongs to, he said May 27. García Harfuch also said that officials detained during the current administration are from “all” of Mexico’s political parties.
With reports from La Jornada and Reforma
