The suspected head of a violent Mexican criminal cell has been arrested over the assassination of a mayor, as investigators say the case has also uncovered fresh evidence tying his group to the livestreamed killing of a 23-year-old influencer.
Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, known by the alias “El R-1,” was captured during a coordinated operation involving the military and law enforcement agencies, officials said.
Mexican authorities described Álvarez Ayala as the leader of Los Rs, a criminal faction associated with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, commonly known as the CJNG.
Officials allege that Álvarez Ayala ordered and financed the November 2025 killing of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo. Authorities also linked his group to the May 2025 murder of beauty influencer Valeria Márquez, whose former boyfriend is Álvarez Ayala’s son.
Mexican special security forces stand with Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala following his arrest. (SSPC – Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana)
Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch outlined new details from the investigation one day after the arrest was carried out.
“‘El R-1’ is identified as the main leader of Los Rs, one of the most violent criminal cells linked to the CJNG, with operations in Apatzingán, Uruapan and Morelia, Michoacán, as well as in Jalisco,” García Harfuch said in a statement posted on X.
He said the organization is accused of extortion, killings and drug trafficking, crimes that have directly harmed producers, business owners and families across the region.
As previously reported by News Outlet, Márquez, a popular TikTok creator with more than 100,000 followers, was shot and killed while livestreaming from her beauty salon in Zapopan, Jalisco.
Mexican authorities say Álvarez Ayala ordered the May 2025 murder of popular beauty influencer Valeria Márquez. (@v___marquez/via Instagram)
At the time, the killing was being investigated as a femicide, a gender-based crime under Mexican law.
Video appeared to show a man entering the salon, asking, “Are you Valeria?” before handing Márquez a gift.
The man then allegedly shot her in the chest and head. Márquez collapsed on camera before another person ended the livestream, the video appeared to show.
García Harfuch said the killing was linked to Francisco, who allegedly threatened Márquez several times after their relationship ended.
“This criminal cell allegedly participated under his orders in coordinating multiple violent acts in the region. Among them is the tragic feminicide of Valeria Márquez, which occurred in May 2025 in Zapopan, Jalisco, a crime linked to Francisco, the victim’s former partner and Ramón Ángel’s son,” García Harfuch said.
Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, a top figure in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) known as “El R-1,” was taken into custody following a joint military and law enforcement operation. (SSPC – Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana)
“With yesterday’s arrest, we learned that R-1’s son had a romantic relationship with Valeria. He had threatened her on several occasions and everything indicates, and this will be proven, that the son asked his father, R-1, to carry out the feminicide,” he said, according to reports.
Álvarez Ayala is now in custody, while Francisco remains at large. Jalisco authorities have also arrested another man accused of participating in Márquez’s killing.
In addition to Márquez’s killing, Álvarez Ayala is accused of financing and orchestrating the assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo, who was shot during Day of the Dead celebrations in November 2025.
Manzo had been an outspoken critic of organized crime and worked to root out corruption within the local police force.
Authorities have arrested 31 people in connection with Manzo’s killing, García Harfuch said.
Álvarez Ayala is being held at the Altiplano maximum-security prison while federal prosecutors pursue charges. Investigations into both killings are ongoing.
The Treasury Department said the CJNG was “one of the most powerful cartels in the world” and imposed sanctions on more than 50 individuals and entities in Mexico linked to the organization in July.
