‘El Kiko,’ Alleged Leader of the New Empire Cartel, Is Arrested

Authorities connect him to a femicide that occurred in 2024 and to various investigations for drug dealing, extortion, and organized crime.

In a joint operation, elements of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), the Secretariat of National Defense, the Secretariat of the Navy, the Attorney General’s Office, and the National Guard, in coordination with the Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC) and the Attorney General’s Office (FGJ) of Mexico City, executed an arrest warrant against 27-year-old Brandon ‘N,’ alias ‘El Kiko,’ for the crime of aggravated homicide.

The arrest took place on the streets of the Lomas de San Lorenzo neighborhood in the Iztapalapa borough, following intelligence work that led to the location of the alleged perpetrator of a shooting in August 2024, in which a woman was killed.

According to the investigation, Suárez Aguilar is identified as the leader of the criminal cell known as “Los Malportados” and/or the Nuevo Imperio Cartel, which is involved in drug trafficking, homicide, extortion, land grabbing, kidnapping, and robbery in Mexico City and the states of Mexico, Morelos, and Guerrero.

The detainee is linked to at least five investigation files: one in 2023 for drug dealing and criminal association; another in 2024 for femicide; and three more in 2025 for extortion, organised crime and possession of firearms.

The security cabinet institutions reiterated that they will continue to work in a coordinated manner to arrest perpetrators of violence and guarantee the safety of 

Source: Milenio