Zapotlanejo officer arrested in disappearance case

Reporting and context

Jalisco investigators arrested a Zapotlanejo police officer in Guadalajara over his alleged role in the enforced disappearance of a man in September 2025, according to El Informador Jalisco, citing the state prosecutor's office.

The officer, identified as Oswaldo Jhovan Arturo “N”, was detained in Guadalajara's San Andrés neighborhood on November 7. Prosecutors said they had identified four alleged participants in the case and arrested three.

Investigators allege that a municipal officer approached the victim at a Zapotlanejo restaurant on September 8, 2025, and questioned him about the whereabouts of supposed drugs. The officer allegedly made a telephone call to seek instructions before detaining the man and taking him to the municipal police station.

The prosecutor's office said the victim was apparently released the next day in a coordinated move that allowed civilians to approach him. El Informador reported that the man was allegedly handed over to members of a criminal group.

The outlet also recalled the November 27, 2025, arrests of Zapotlanejo officers Ricardo “N” and José Alfonso “N” on enforced-disappearance allegations. Investigators said those officers had intercepted a man on September 8 and kept him disappeared for several days.

The report places the arrest within a wider pattern of cases involving public employees. Citing the prosecutor's office for missing persons, it said 14 public servants had been brought before courts for enforced disappearance between January and October 2026.

Separately, state missing-person registry figures cited by the newspaper recorded 16,247 people still missing as of September 30, 2026. Of those, 13,951 had an investigation file and 2,296 did not.

Original publication: El Informador Jalisco.