El Tanque ordered to pretrial detention and transfer to Altiplano

Reporting and context

A federal judge ordered pretrial detention for Iván Cazarín Molina, known as “El Tanque,” whom authorities identify as a regional operator of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and leader of a fuel-smuggling network sanctioned by the United States. Infobae México reported that Cazarín will be transferred to Federal Social Rehabilitation Center No. 1, known as the Altiplano, in Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico.

Cazarín appeared by videoconference from Federal Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office (FEMDO) facilities in Mexico City during an initial hearing in Almoloya de Juárez. He was arrested on Oct. 5 in Zapopan, Jalisco. According to Infobae México, the Attorney General’s Office accused him of organized crime aimed at committing drug-related offenses, drug-related offenses, carrying a firearm reserved for the armed forces and possessing ammunition.

The charges currently cover only acts documented during the Zapopan arrest. They do not include allegations of homicide, extortion or fuel theft that authorities have attributed to him in previous years. Milenio reported that Cazarín’s lawyer challenged the prosecution’s evidence, but the judge ruled that it was sufficient at this stage to support the allegation that he probably participated in the charged offenses.

The judge granted 144 hours to resolve whether Cazarín will be formally bound over for trial, with the hearing scheduled to continue on Oct. 13. The proceeding was held behind closed doors after prosecutors cited sensitive information in the investigative file; the defense did not object. Public Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch separately said Cazarín’s arrest stems from a different investigation, opened in 2015, into the alleged downing of a military helicopter in Jalisco.

Original report: https://www.infobae.com/mexico/2026/10/09/dictan-prision-preventiva-a-el-tanque-del-cjng-sera-trasladado-al-altiplano