Mexico arrests alleged leader of cartel training center at Jalisco ranch

By Raul Cortes

Mexican law enforcement arrested an alleged cartel recruiter tied to a ranch where clothing and human remains were found in the state of Jalisco, Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said on Monday.

Harfuch accused the suspect, who he said goes by the alias of "Commandante Lastra," of leading recruitment for the notorious Jalisco New Generation Cartel at an alleged cartel killing site and training camp in Teuchitlan, a rural area about 40 miles (64 km) outside Jalisco's capital, Guadalajara.

"He is linked to the recruitment of individuals for the criminal organization during the period from May 2024 to early March 2025," Garcia said.

"He had a group of collaborators dedicated to the recruitment process."

Garcia added the suspect primarily used social media to offer false job opportunities to would-be recruits.

Local media has dubbed the site under investigation the "ranch of horror."

Earlier this month, an activist search group for missing people found what they called an "extermination camp" littered with bone fragments, ashes, alleged makeshift crematoriums, along with hundreds of shoes, backpacks and other belongings.

Mexico's top prosecutor has said it was too soon to determine whether the site was an "extermination center" but added that state authorities had bungled the initial investigation, which has now been turned over to federal investigators.