Mexican authorities have apprehended Jorge Luis N, alias “Koki,” leader of the Pueblo Unido criminal group, along with two accomplices, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar García Harfuch said on the X social platform in August 2026. Koki is accused of drug distribution, kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion, attacks against authorities and vehicle burnings.
“Based on information obtained by the National Intelligence Center,” agents from the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection, the Ministry of National Defense, the Secretariat of the Navy and the National Guard, along with the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Tabasco, participated in the operation, García Harfuch said in the X post. The detainee previously “was an operator for Ulises N, alias ‘Pinto,’ leader of La Barredora, who was detained in July 2025,” García Harfuch said.
La Barredora is another criminal group. Koki severed ties with the organization after Pinto’s arrest and formed the splinter group Pueblo Unido.
Several news organizations, including La Silla Rota, reported that Koki and two accomplices were stopped and arrested while driving along the Mexico-Pachuca highway in Hidalgo state. In García Harfuch’s X post, he thanked the governor of Tabasco, state authorities and the government of Hidalgo for their support in the operation.
The digital news platform Latinus identified Koki as Jorge de la Cruz, but that has not been confirmed. Under the Mexican Constitution, government authorities and news media withhold suspects’ surnames by using “N” to protect their identity and legal rights.
In testimony before the United States Senate Armed Services Committee in March, Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said transnational criminal organizations in Mexico “retain their intent to flood the United States with illegal drugs and facilitate illegal migration across our border. While the increased U.S. military and law enforcement presence along our southern approaches has severely curtailed these illicit flows over the last year, these criminals continue to seek alternate routes to move their products into the United States.”
He also praised the Mexican military and its close partnership with USNORTHCOM. “The USNORTHCOM relationship with Mexican military partners stands strong and pays lasting dividends for the security of both the United States and Mexico. USNORTHCOM maintains its long-standing relationships with the Mexican Department of the Navy (Marina) and Department of National Defense (Defensa) and addresses shared security challenges by, with, and through our Mexican partners. The year-round partnership with Defensa and Marina has generated significant benefits for U.S. homeland defense while enhancing the capability of Mexican partners to defend their nation against Russian and Chinese influence as well as taking the fight to the violent transnational criminal organizations that have plagued both nations.”