A military operation to counter a Mexican transnational criminal organization (TCO) in April 2026 resulted in 10 arrests of a cartel led by a close associate of Joaquín Guzmán, known as “El Chapo,” a notorious cartel kingpin serving a life sentence in a United States federal prison. The operation, carried out by elements of the Mexican Army, National Guard and Navy, also captured guns and ammunition in a rural mountainous region in western Durango state near the border with the neighboring state of Sinaloa.
Soldiers, Sailors and Guardsmen apprehended members of Gente del Guano, a TCO led by Aureliano Guzman Loera or “El Guano,” El Chapo’s older brother. The group is a faction of the Pacific Cartel, according to an April 23 news release from the Secretariat of National Defense.
Three of the 10 men arrested were identified as the group’s second-in-command, its finance and logistics expert in charge of acquiring weapons, drones and other contraband, and its security chief. Soldiers, Guardsmen and Sailors also seized a 5.56 mm machine gun, 10 long guns of varying calibers, a handgun, explosive devices and ammunition, the release stated. El Guano was not captured, according to media reports.
The U.S. provided intelligence to support the operation, and the arrestees and evidence will be turned over to the prosecutor’s office in Culiacán in Sinaloa. “With these actions, the security cabinet reaffirms its commitment to contributing to the strengthening of Mexico’s security,” the release stated.
The rugged region has been a point of conflict between Mexican cartels, reported the Dallas Morning News. The newspaper reported that the same day as the La Cebadilla operation, another security operation was launched about 168 kilometers away in Sinaloa in the town of Badiraguato. That operation was designed to arrest El Guano, confirmed Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection. “Operational actions are being carried out in Sinaloa, specifically in Badiraguato and the surrounding areas. There are actions by the Security Cabinet, mainly led by the Ministry of National Defense; there are already detainees, the arrest of this subject has not yet been confirmed, the operations continue at this time,” García Harfuch stated, according to the newspaper.