‘El R1’, an Alleged CJNG Operative Accused of the Murder of Carlos Manzo, Has Been Formally Charged

Authorities identified Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala as a key figure within the CJNG and alleged that he ordered the attack through ‘El Licenciado’.

Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, alias “El R1,” was formally charged following his arrest, which came after months of intelligence and investigative work.

Additionally, the federal judge presiding over the case ordered that he be held in pretrial detention and set a three-month deadline for the completion of supplementary investigations.

During this period, the Prosecutor’s Office may add evidence to the case file and gather new leads to determine the potential sentence that could be imposed on “El R1.”

“El R1” will remain incarcerated at Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 01—better known as “El Altiplano”—in the State of Mexico. “El Licenciado” is also held there and is due to have his intermediate-stage hearing soon.

Beyond the killing of Carlos Manzo, “El R1” is identified as the leader of “Los Rs,” an operational arm of the CJNG (Jalisco New Generation Cartel) active in municipalities across Jalisco and Michoacán.

In both states, he directed criminal activities related to drug offenses—such as street-level drug dealing—as well as extortion targeting the avocado, lime, and livestock sectors; the forced collection of protection money from general businesses; homicide; kidnapping; arms trafficking; and organized crime.

His role in the homicide of Carlos Manzo

Authorities identify the man as a key figure within the CJNG and as the alleged mastermind behind the assassination of former Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo.

The arrest was announced by the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), Omar García Harfuch, who noted that the operation was carried out in coordination with the Special Forces of the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) and based on information provided by the National Intelligence Center (CNI).

Ramón Álvarez Ayala allegedly issued the order—through Jorge Armando ‘N’, alias “El Licenciado”—to assassinate Carlos Manzo, regardless of whether the then-mayor was alone or accompanied. The operation to carry out the killing was reportedly coordinated via a group on a messaging app called Threema, where “El Licenciado” issued instructions to a cell of young people tasked with conducting surveillance, tracking, and carrying out an attack against the former mayor. Carlos Manzo was murdered on November 1 in the main square of Uruapan.

Who is El R1?

Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala began his criminal career in 2002, according to reports from authorities.

He reportedly started out working for the now-defunct Milenio Cartel, an organization he eventually led. In 2012, the Secretariat of National Defense identified El R1 as the second-in-command of the CJNG. That same year, he was arrested in Jalisco alongside his brother, Rafael Álvarez Ayala—alias R2.

After spending about a decade in prison, he was released on November 19, 2022, upon leaving Federal Social Readaptation Center (CEFERESO) No. 11 in Sonora.

Source: Milenio