El Tanque linked to CJNG and 2015 helicopter attack
Original reporting: El Financiero
What happened
El Financiero reported that Iván Cazarín Molina was identified by Mexican authorities as a high-ranking alleged CJNG operator and was linked to the 2015 downing of a military helicopter during Operation Jalisco.
Reporting and context
Iván Cazarín Molina, alias “El Tanque,” was arrested in Zapopan, Jalisco, and identified by Mexican authorities as an alleged high-ranking operator of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, El Financiero reported. The source said officials consider him close to the cartel’s late leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho.”
According to El Financiero, the National Intelligence Center links Cazarín to alleged money laundering, fuel theft, drug and arms trafficking, homicide, and the theft of vehicles and goods. The article said authorities also associate him with the May 1, 2015, attack on a Mexican Air Force Cougar helicopter during Operation Jalisco.
The helicopter, identified in the report by registration 1009, was flying between Casimiro Castillo and Villa Purificación in southern Jalisco when gunmen allegedly fired a Russian-made RPG from the ground. The crash killed military and then-Federal Police personnel, according to the article.
El Financiero reported that the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Cazarín in September 2024 and identified him as a high-ranking CJNG member who reported directly to El Mencho. The source also said U.S. authorities accused him of leading a fuel-theft network that allegedly generated tens of millions of dollars a year through illegal pipeline taps and gas stations.
Authorities seized a firearm, several doses of drugs and a vehicle during the arrest. Cazarín was placed at the disposal of prosecutors, who will determine his legal status.