Alleged Los Ranas leader arrested in Culiacán

Reporting and context

Mexican federal and state forces arrested four men in Culiacán, including a man authorities identify as “Coco Ranas,” an alleged leader of the Los Ranas cell aligned with Los Chapitos, according to Infobae México. The report identifies him as Joel Isaías Gaspar Magañas and/or Orlando Castañeda Torres and describes Los Ranas as an armed group within the Sinaloa Cartel.

Officials gave differing accounts of what prompted the operation. Sinaloa’s public security secretariat said an anonymous 089 tip reported armed civilians at a home in Lomas del Sol and that occupants of a vehicle tried to flee before being intercepted. The Defense Secretariat later attributed the arrest to military intelligence. Infobae reported participation by National Guard and Army personnel alongside the state police Special Operations Group, GOES.

The National Detentions Registry, consulted by Infobae on October 22, recorded the arrest at 10:50 p.m. on October 21 on Profesora Emilia Obeso street in Lomas del Sol. It listed GOES as the arresting authority and recorded the detainee as turned over to prosecutors, with the federal Attorney General’s Office in Culiacán named as his location and his status marked “in transit.”

State authorities reported seizing four firearms: one 5.56×45-millimeter rifle, an M70 rifle in 7.62×39 millimeters and two 5.56×45-millimeter carbines. The inventory also included 25 magazines, 210 rounds in 7.62×39 millimeters, 540 rounds in 5.56×45 millimeters and another 588 linked rounds of that caliber, two 40-millimeter grenades, four tactical vests with ballistic plates and a vehicle.

Police also reported 50 suspected fentanyl pills weighing about 12 grams and 200 doses of suspected cocaine weighing about 113 grams. Infobae noted that the released official images showed weapons and the four detainees. A separate photograph circulating on social media showed Coco Ranas receiving medical care with an oxygen cannula and monitoring equipment.

The Defense Secretariat also accused Coco Ranas of participating in the September 30, 2016 ambush on soldiers that killed five and wounded ten. Infobae described an attack by about 60 gunmen seeking to free Julio Óscar Ortiz Vega, known as “El Kevin.” The report also recalled the July 28 arrest in Villa Unión of Adrián N, “El 20,” whom Defense linked to the same ambush.

Infobae traced Los Ranas to the armed groups serving Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s sons after his January 2016 arrest. It reported the group’s involvement in the 2019 Culiacanazo and said reports placed leadership with Jesús Alexis Osorio Álvarez, “El Lechu,” and Coco Ranas after “El Comandante Coco” was killed in September 2024.

The group also gained visibility through “El Mayor de los Ranas,” performed by Víctor Valverde and Jr Torres and later by Valverde with Marca Registrada. As background, Infobae recounted the September 24 attack at Culiacán’s TaiPak restaurant that killed one person and wounded six, including Valverde, 21. The account does not establish responsibility for that attack by the four men arrested.

Read the original report at Infobae México.