Mexican Court Sentences 19 CJNG Members to Up to 18 Years for 2022 Tizapán el Alto Arms Cache

A Jalisco Tribunal de Enjuiciamiento sentenced 19 CJNG members to prison terms of 16 to 18 years, 1 month, 22 days on August 10, 2026, for criminal association (asociación delictuosa), stockpiling firearms (acopio de armas de fuego), and possession of ammunition and magazines reserved for the exclusive use of Mexico's armed forces. Twelve defendants received the maximum 18-year term; seven received 16 years, 6 months. The case dates to a November 11, 2022 confrontation with SEDENA elements in the Nopal Manso neighborhood of Tizapán el Alto, Jalisco, on the shores of Lake Chapala, in which authorities seized 28 long firearms, 2,470 cartridges, 153 magazines, a grenade launcher, 18 ballistic vests (four marked with CJNG insignia), an artisanally armored pickup truck, and additional vehicles. The 19 will serve their sentences at the Puente Grande federal penitentiary complex in Jalisco — the same facility already holding several other post-Mencho CJNG arrestees, including 'El Cabo' and 'El R-1.'