'El Mansito,' Alleged CJNG Extortion Network Leader, Killed in Morelia Confrontation

On September 26, 2026, Michoacán state Guardia Civil personnel conducting a surveillance/intelligence operation on Avenida Periodismo in Morelia located Rafael 'N,' alias 'El Mansito,' a priority target wanted on active warrants for qualified homicide and aggravated kidnapping. Authorities said he drew a handgun and fired on officers, who returned fire, killing him at the scene; no security personnel were injured. State intelligence reports identified him as a leader of a CJNG-linked extortion network operating across Michoacán and neighboring Guanajuato, tracing his criminal career back to 2008 when he was recruited as a lookout ('halcón') for La Familia Michoacana in southern Morelia before rising to manage drug-sale points and cartel safehouses; he had previously been arrested in 2010 and sentenced to 30+ years in 2021 on unlawful-detention, drug-trafficking and exclusive-military-ammunition charges.