The alleged leader of a violent Mexican criminal cell has been arrested in connection with the assassination of a mayor, while authorities say the case also produced new evidence linking his organization to the livestreamed killing of a 23-year-old influencer.

Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, also known as «El R-1,» was taken into custody during a joint military and law enforcement operation, officials said.

Mexican authorities identified him as the leader of Los Rs, a criminal cell linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG.

Officials allege Álvarez Ayala ordered and financed the November 2025 assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo. His criminal cell was also linked to the May 2025 killing of beauty influencer Valeria Márquez, whose former boyfriend is Álvarez Ayala’s son, according to authorities.

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Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch announced details of the investigation a day after the arrest.

«‘El R-1’ is identified as the main leader of Los Rs, one of the most violent criminal cells linked to the CJNG, with operations in Apatzingán, Uruapan and Morelia, Michoacán, as well as in Jalisco,» García Harfuch said in a statement posted on X.

«This organization is involved in extortion, murders and drug trafficking, directly affecting producers, business owners and families in the region,» he added.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Márquez, a popular TikTok creator with more than 100,000 followers, was shot and killed while livestreaming from her beauty salon in Zapopan, Jalisco.

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Mexican authorities say Álvarez Ayala ordered the May 2025 murder of popular beauty influencer Valeria Márquez. (@v___marquez/via Instagram)

At the time, the killing was being investigated as a femicide, a gender-based crime under Mexican law.

Video appeared to show a man entering the salon, asking, «Are you Valeria?» before handing Márquez a gift.

The man then allegedly shot her in the chest and head. Márquez collapsed on camera before another person ended the livestream, the video appeared to show.

García Harfuch said the killing was linked to Francisco, who allegedly threatened Márquez several times after their relationship ended.

«This criminal cell allegedly participated under his orders in coordinating multiple violent acts in the region. Among them is the tragic feminicide of Valeria Márquez, which occurred in May 2025 in Zapopan, Jalisco, a crime linked to Francisco, the victim’s former partner and Ramón Ángel’s son,» García Harfuch said.

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Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, a top figure in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) known as «El R-1,» was taken into custody following a joint military and law enforcement operation. (SSPC – Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana)

«With yesterday’s arrest, we learned that R-1’s son had a romantic relationship with Valeria. He had threatened her on several occasions and everything indicates, and this will be proven, that the son asked his father, R-1, to carry out the feminicide,» he said, according to reports.

Álvarez Ayala is now in custody, while Francisco remains at large. Jalisco authorities have also arrested another man accused of participating in Márquez’s killing.

In addition to Márquez’s killing, Álvarez Ayala is accused of financing and orchestrating the assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo, who was shot during Day of the Dead celebrations in November 2025.

Manzo had been an outspoken critic of organized crime and worked to root out corruption within the local police force.

Authorities have arrested 31 people in connection with Manzo’s killing, García Harfuch said.

Álvarez Ayala is being held at the Altiplano maximum-security prison while federal prosecutors pursue charges. Investigations into both killings are ongoing.

The Treasury Department said the CJNG was «one of the most powerful cartels in the world» and imposed sanctions on more than 50 individuals and entities in Mexico linked to the organization in July.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s game plan for government-run grocery stores faced criticism Monday after a city official told reporters a «library-card-esque system» may be employed to prevent abuse of the 30% discounted markets.

Mamdani took a question from a reporter who asked about preventing bulk purchases of groceries at the artificial discount from being re-sold at MSRP or higher.

The mayor responded that the government grocery Request-for-Proposal makes clear «this is a program for New Yorkers to be able to put food on the table, not a program for people to be able to make a quick buck through reselling. I’m going to pass it over to our EDC head, Jeanny Pak, to add some additional details.»

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It was Pak’s follow-up that raised eyebrows, given Mamdani and many Democrats’ staunch opposition to voter ID and Republicans’ SAVE America Act moving through Congress.

«[W]e are looking to make sure that we target New Yorkers, whether it be a sort of a library card-esque thing, and also we manage who’s buying and that is focused on everyday New Yorkers,» Pak said.

«So, we are mindful of that, and so we’re going to make sure that we have all the things in place to ensure that that does not happen.»

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When asked about the apparent divergence between Pak’s response referencing a possible ID card-type system and opposition to voter ID, a Mamdani spokesperson said it was an apples-to-oranges contrast.

«Comparisons to voter ID laws or the SAVE Act simply do not apply. This is not an identification system, nor is it a mechanism to verify who someone is, where they live, or how much they earn,» Mamdani’s spokesperson said.

«It is a practical inventory management tool to ensure affordable groceries remain available for the people who need them instead of being cleared off shelves for resale.»

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The spokesperson pointed to the mayor’s comments specifically regarding bulk-buying concerns, saying that was the premise of the reporter’s question — not whether people from Pennsylvania, New Jersey or upstate New York would be able to shop at the subsidized outlets.

«To be absolutely clear: NYC Grocery stores will be open to everyone,» the spokesperson said.

«There will be no system to verify identity, residency, or income, and no one will be asked to show ID to shop.»

Instead of an «ID,» the spokesperson said the stores may employ a «customer card» similar to loyalty programs at other grocers like ShopRite, Food Lion or Weis.

The «customer card» would be designed by the «private operator» of the city-run store to «help manage supply and prevent people from buying large quantities of discounted staples for resale» and is strictly intended to «make sure the savings reach families putting food on the table.»

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La Marqueta, a Latino marketplace in East Harlem, is chosen as the site of the first city-owned grocery store announced by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, on April 14, 2026. (Kendall Rodriguez/Newsday RM/Getty Images)

Customers will not need to apply through City Hall or any agency, the spokesperson added.

Critics were unconvinced.

«ID for government cheese,» said Philadelphia radio host Rich Zeoli.

«After all, we have to make sure no one crosses the border and if they do, the police will be called. So it’s good to see Mamdani now supports ID (just not for voting), border control, and law enforcement,» Zeoli tweeted.

Former Texas congressional candidate Nick Plumb commented on X that «Mamdani wants to protect taxpayer funded grocery store[s] from non-NYC residents they’ll need an ID card to enter. You can[t] make this up.»

Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, a supporter of voter ID who also opposed the Old Dominion’s recent failed attempt to redraw congressional lines to Democrats’ advantage, also criticized the mayor.

«So let me get this straight: Taxpayer-funded grocery store? Better show a valid ID or you can’t buy milk,» Miyares said.

«Voting for the people who decide how those taxes get spent? A valid ID is somehow ‘racist’ and ‘oppressive’. Unbelievable,» he said.

When asked whether the mayor’s office believed the loyalty card system constituted a form of identification, a Mamdani spokesperson directed Fox News Digital to a paragraph in the Request for Proposal (RFP) that prospective store operators must follow:

«The Operator(s) will create a voluntary free-to-access membership card program to monitor sales activity, and implement the discount program and any associated demand management measures. The savings card shall not be required for physical access to N.Y.C. Groceries site(s) and shall be made easily available to any individual requesting one,» the section read.

«Make it make sense,» added FOX News host Sean Hannity.

New York Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney added: «So ID for government grocery stores to stop people abusing the system is fine, but requiring ID to vote not? Got it.»

SAVE Act supporter Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., added on X that the hypocrisy must «stop.»

«Democrats: Are fighting to ensure you don’t have to show an ID before voting in our elections. Also Democrats: Want you to show an ID before entering a supermarket.»

«Oh, the irony is too much,» said X CEO Elon Musk.

Rusia acusa a Ucrania de terrorismo