10 'Gente del Guano' Associates Arrested in Tamazula Follow-Up Operation; El Guano's Right-Hand Man Captured

A joint Mexican Army (SEDENA) and Navy (SEMAR) operation on April 23, 2026 — described by El Financiero as 'the second attempt to capture El Guano' — arrested 10 members of the 'Gente del Guano' faction in Tamazula, a mountainous locality on the Sinaloa-Durango border and a key stronghold for Aureliano 'El Guano' Guzmán Loera, El Chapo's brother. The detained included El Guano's right-hand man (identified only as 'Abel N'), his chief bodyguard, and his principal financial and logistics operator — effectively the operational command structure below El Guano himself. Weapons, ammunition, and explosive devices were seized in the operation. Latinus confirmed that the operation had US intelligence support. Despite the capture of his inner circle, El Guano himself escaped — marking the fourth time he has evaded federal interdiction. The operation demonstrated a shift from the broad April 22 Badiraguato air-and-ground operation to a more precise intelligence-driven strike in Tamazula. El Guano defected from the Chapitos after El Mayo's capture in July 2024 to join La Mayiza, becoming the dominant sierra-zone commander in the Golden Triangle. His control of both drug production and fuel-theft (huachicol) networks in the Badiraguato-Tamazula corridor makes him one of the highest-value remaining Sinaloa Cartel targets with a $5 million US State Department reward on his capture.