El Mencho’s Alleged Godson El 08 Reportedly Escaped in Ocotlán

The name now coming out of the Ocotlán pursuit is Adrián Alonso Guerrero Covarrubias, “El 08.” Mexican reporting describes him as an alleged godson of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” and identifies him as the man believed to have escaped soldiers on November 12.

Federal sources quoted in that reporting put him in the fleeing SUV. If that identification holds, the man who got away had already been named in U.S. sanctions as a senior CJNG member. I want to know whether the troops knew his name during the pursuit.

I covered the confrontation and the videos in my original Ocotlán report. The escape report adds a name to that story. I haven’t independently confirmed who was inside the SUV.

El 08 already had a sanctions file

The U.S. Treasury named Alonso Guerrero Covarrubias and his brother Javier in sanctions announced on June 6, 2023. Its allegation was specific: both were senior CJNG members involved in arms trafficking, fuel theft and drug trafficking.

The sanctions entry also lists “Adrian Alonso Guerrero Covarrubias” and the alias “El Ocho.” The portrait below was published in June 2023. It’s an archival photo; the date it was taken is unspecified.

The Guerrero family behind El 08

Start in Tinaja de Vargas, in Tanhuato, Michoacán. Mexican reporting places the Guerrero family there and describes Los Guerreros as a CJNG-aligned clan. The older generation centers on two brothers, Javier Guerrero Martínez and Heraclio Guerrero Martínez, “Tío Lako.”

The reported family line runs from Javier Guerrero Martínez to his sons Leonardo, Javier and Adrián Alonso. His brother Tío Lako is identified as the father of Rubén Guerrero Valadez, “El Láminas.” That makes Rubén their cousin.

Family member	Reported connection or role
Javier Guerrero Martínez Father	Reported father of El 08 and an early leader of Los Guerrero alongside his brother Heraclio. Reported killed in 2011.
Heraclio Guerrero Martínez, “El Tío Lako” Paternal uncle	Reported brother of Javier Guerrero Martínez and a leader of the CJNG-aligned Los Guerreros.
Javier Guerrero Covarrubias Brother	Sanctioned alongside his brother Alonso in June 2023 as a senior CJNG member.
Leonardo Guerrero Covarrubias Brother	Reported son of Javier Guerrero Martínez and brother of Javier and Adrián Alonso; named in reporting on the Los Guerrero family structure.
Rubén Guerrero Valadez, “El Láminas” Cousin	Reported son of Tío Lako, cousin of El 08 and an operator of Los Guerreros. His death was reported in February 2026.

Mexican reporting says El Mencho was godfather to all three sons: Leonardo, Javier and Adrián Alonso. Their reported father was Javier Guerrero Martínez.

What did the soldiers know?

Federal sources cited in the reporting say suspected CJNG members caused a collision to block the soldiers and buy El 08 time to get away.

Soldiers later found an abandoned, apparently armored SUV believed to have carried him, the same report says. It had Florida plates and had been reported stolen. Inside were tire-deflation devices, a patch marked “adiestramiento” and CJNG emblems, according to that account.

The military’s initial account starts with a stolen-vehicle report. Soldiers came under fire, according to that account, but El 08 wasn’t named. The later reporting puts him in the vehicle troops were trying to stop. That leaves the question of when they learned whom they might be chasing.

I haven’t established that this was a planned capture operation against El 08. If officials knew he was in the vehicle, they should explain when they identified him and how he got away.

The patch in the scene photo

The patch photograph supplied to me as coming from the Ocotlán scene has “Adiestramiento” (“training”) across the top and “CJNG” at the bottom. “Humildad” (“humility”) and “Lealtad” (“loyalty”) run down the sides. A masked figure and crossed rifles fill the center.

The lettering is easy to read. Connecting it to El 08 takes evidence I don’t have. The original photographer, exact recovery location and wearer remain unverified.

Federal sources are naming El 08. Now I want an official to explain, on the record, who was inside that SUV, how they were identified and how they got away.

Sources: Milenio · El Occidental.