The mayor of Teuchitlán, Jalisco, José Ascensión Murguía Santiago, of the Movimiento Ciudadano party, was arrested this weekend for his alleged connection to Rancho Izaguirre, a property used by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) as an operations and recruitment center. Authorities link him to the criminal organization and accuse him of having visited the site several times and receiving monthly payments from CJNG operatives.
He is even linked to José Gregorio “N”, alias “El Lastra,” who is incarcerated in the Altiplano prison. It is claimed that the mayor knew, after making several visits in 2024, that recruits of the criminal group were forced to eat human flesh. The case gained prominence in March 2025 when mothers' search collectives found skeletal remains, clothing, and evidence of bonfires on the property, labeling it as an extermination center.
Although the place had been briefly intervened in September 2024 by the National Guard, it was not thoroughly investigated until the searching mothers reported its criminal use. The mayor's arrest is the only arrest related to this case, highlighting the grave crisis of violence and disappearances in Mexico.
The Jalisco Prosecutor's Office has responded to the accusations from the FGR and has handed over the case file to the federal government in a gesture of openness and cooperation. Murguía Santiago faces charges of organized crime to the detriment of the community and enforced disappearance, being identified as a key player in the CJNG's operations at Rancho Izaguirre. The FGR accuses him of being the material and direct author of the forced recruitment operation carried out at the site, which implies his alleged complicity with organized crime.
