Mexican authorities said Tuesday they had captured a high-ranking member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known by the alias “The Tank.”
Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s security secretary, announced the arrest on X and identified the suspect as Iván Cazarín Molina.
Molina was sanctioned by the United States in 2024 over allegations that he helped organize fuel theft for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG. Mexican forces arrested him in Zapopan and coordinated with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Omar Garcia Harfuch, secretary of security and citizen protection, speaks during a press conference in Mexico City on Feb. 23, 2026, after the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. (Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Harfuch said investigators link Molina to homicides, extortion, unlawful detention, fuel theft, money laundering and drug trafficking. He is also accused of involvement in a 2015 attack on a Mexican military helicopter in Jalisco that killed members of the Army and Federal Police.
Officers recovered a vehicle, a firearm and several types of drugs during the operation.
Harfuch said the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Molina in September 2024 because of his ties to the CJNG and identified him as part of the inner circle of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho.” That designation prompted an information-sharing effort with the DEA. Molina will be transferred to the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime Matters, or FEMDO, where prosecutors will determine his legal status.
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Investigative police officers stand guard outside the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime at the Attorney General’s Office in Mexico City, Mexico, on Feb. 22, 2026. (Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The arrest came about a week after the United States announced broad sanctions targeting a Sinaloa cartel network accused of corrupting Mexican officials near the U.S. border.
Los Mayos, a powerful Sinaloa faction, and its U.S.-born leader have been accused of moving fentanyl and drug proceeds through California while hiring assassins to eliminate rivals on American territory.
According to material obtained exclusively by News Media ahead of its public release Tuesday, the Treasury Department plans to sanction 21 people and 25 organizations as part of a crackdown on Los Mayos and alleged criminal operations in the United States.
The Treasury Department describes U.S.-born Ismael “Mayito Flaco” Zambada Sicairos as the “undisputed head” of Los Mayos, the Sinaloa cartel faction he took over after the arrest of his father, longtime kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia. (U.S. Department of the Treasury)
The sanctions target Ismael Zambada Sicairos, known as “Mayito Flaco,” a dual U.S.-Mexican citizen born in Anaheim, California, whom the Treasury Department identified as Los Mayos’ “undisputed head.”