El Cromo arrest expands Juchitán network investigation

Reporting and context

The arrest of Iván Sánchez, known as El Cromo, has widened an investigation into an alleged criminal network operating in Oaxaca's Isthmus of Tehuantepec, according to El País México. Federal sources told the newspaper that his capture was linked to the investigation involving Juchitán Mayor Miguel Ángel Sánchez, who was detained in late September.

El Cromo was arrested on Wednesday. The report said he faced three homicide accusations, including one concerning the alleged killing of a four-year-old girl. Authorities accuse his group of extortion, protection rackets, retail drug dealing, kidnapping and killings in Juchitán, Tehuantepec, Salina Cruz, Ciudad Ixtepec and Matías Romero.

El País reported that authorities had linked the local group, known as Los Cromos, to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG. Officials had not explained how that relationship developed or what hierarchy governed it. The newspaper examined the arrests against years of reported criminal pressure on residents, businesses and local government.

One visible sign of CJNG's reach came on February 22, when roadblocks and vehicle burnings followed the death of its leader, El Mencho. In Juchitán and surrounding areas, criminals burned as many as 14 vehicles, the report said. Earlier military documents disclosed by the Guacamaya hacking collective had recorded CJNG activity in the area by late 2021. A separate military assessment had documented its presence in 19 municipalities of Oaxaca's Cuenca region by December of that year.

Records of a December 20, 2021, meeting described threats against the incoming mayor of Matías Romero. She said the group demanded municipal police vehicles to move weapons and drugs, protection payments and a monthly payment as conditions for allowing her to take office. She also reported widespread extortion and violence against those who resisted.

The federal Security Cabinet alleges that Miguel Ángel Sánchez used his position to help criminals. El País said he had served as municipal secretary under Emilio Montoro, replaced him as mayor in 2022 and later won election for Morena. Montoro resigned from the Oaxaca public education institute after his former secretary's arrest and subsequently published a letter distancing himself from Los Cromos and CJNG.

A Juchitán resident interviewed anonymously for safety told the newspaper that Los Cromos first charged migrants passing through the area, then expanded extortion against local businesses and residents. Tens of thousands of migrants crossed the isthmus in 2023 and 2024, the report said. The resident described threatening signs bearing the name "comandante Cromo."

The newspaper also traced the recent arrests alongside the case of Juchitán designer Elvis Guerra, who reported an armed attack on Guerra's home on September 18. President Claudia Sheinbaum announced protection on September 21 and met Guerra with Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch on September 23, when the arrest sequence began. The report said the reason authorities acted at this particular moment remained unclear.

Original reporting: El País México.