Cartel operator detained in connection with shooting of 2 Sinaloa legislators

Federal security forces have detained a man in connection with the armed attack last Wednesday on two Citizens’ Movement party (MC) lawmakers in Culiacán, the capital of the northern state of Sinaloa.

According to a joint statement issued by federal security forces on Tuesday, Jesús Emir “N” was arrested in Culiacán on Monday in an operation carried out by personnel from the Mexican Army, the Navy, the Federal Attorney General’s Office, the Security Ministry and the National Guard.

The statement said the suspect is “related to the attack against two deputies in the state of Sinaloa” on Jan. 28. In a post to X, federal Security Minister Omar García Harfuch wrote that “one of those responsible for the cowardly attack” on the MC lawmakers had been detained. Authorities haven’t disclosed any possible motive for the crime.

The detained suspect was identified in media reports as Jesús Emir Bazoco Peraza, also known as “El Compa Güero” and “Radio 13.”

The joint statement said that Jesús Emir “N” has been identified as the person responsible for controlling “communication radios” for a criminal cell and installing cameras to monitor the movements “of the authorities.”

Assassination attempt leaves 2 Sinaloa state legislators hospitalized in Culiacán

It also said that the suspect purchased drones for a criminal cell.

Last Friday, García Harfuch said that “a cell of Los Chapitos” — a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel controlled by sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán — was to blame for the attack on Sergio Torres Félix and Elizabeth Rafaela Montoya Ojeda, both of whom are MC deputies in the Sinaloa state Congress.

The two lawmakers were in a vehicle when they came under fire near the boardwalk in downtown Culiacán. They were both wounded, and six days later remain hospitalized.

In their joint statement, federal security forces said that “55 doses” of crystal meth, a long gun, two firearm magazines, a vehicle and two telephones were seized from Jesús Emir “N” when he was detained.

They said that the suspect and the confiscated items were turned over to the “corresponding” public prosecutor, “who will determine his legal situation.”

In his X post, García Harfuch said that investigations are continuing in order to “detain all those responsible” for the attack on Torres and Montoya “and ensure that this crime doesn’t go unpunished, as President @Claudiashein instructed.”

The federal security forces said that security camera footage has been analyzed and that “lines of investigation” to identify the perpetrators of the attack have been drawn up.

They said it was established that the perpetrators used a white truck to flee the scene of the crime. That vehicle was found on the second floor of a supermarket parking lot, according to the joint statement.

For well over a year, Culiacán has been the epicenter of a bloody conflict between Los Chapitos and Los Mayos, another Sinaloa Cartel faction that was formerly led by Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a longtime leader of the cartel who last year pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in U.S. federal court.

Who is ‘El Compa Güero’?

The newspaper El Universal reported that Bazoco Peraza is an “operator” for the “Los Chapitos” faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. His nickname means “The Blond Buddy.”

En una acción encabezada por @Defensamx1, @SSPCMexico y la Agencia de Investigación Criminal de @FGRMexico, fue detenido uno de los responsables del cobarde ataque contra diputados de Movimiento Ciudadano, ocurrido el 28 de enero en Culiacán, Sinaloa.
El detenido era responsable… pic.twitter.com/rBLOnNNe5i

— Omar H Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) February 3, 2026

Río Doce, a Culiacán-based newspaper, reported that the suspect is a former employee of the Culiacán municipal government and a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.

Citing municipal government documents, Río Doce wrote that Bazoco Peraza worked at a park in Culiacán from 2018 until at least 2021, doing a range of tasks including operating children’s rides, selling tickets and preparing food.

Citing information on the National Transparency Platform, Río Doce also reported that the suspect joined the PRI in Sinaloa in 2019 and remained a member of the party at least until July 2025.

16 ‘organized crime members’ arrested in Sinaloa in a single day 

On X, García Harfuch noted that a total of “16 organized crime members related to violence” in Sinaloa, including Bazoco Peraza, were arrested in the northern state on Monday.

Ten of the 16 suspects were detained in Culiacán, while the other six were arrested in Navolato, a city and municipality that borders Culiacán to the west.

In addition to making the arrests, authorities seized drugs, vehicles, firearms and tactical equipment.

In addition, in three different communities in the municipality of Culiacán, authorities “located and disabled four areas where various materials used in the manufacture of methamphetamine were concentrated,” according to a statement issued by federal security forces.

The authorities seized 2,810 liters of “chemical substances” at the four sites, the statement said.

The federal security forces said that the 16 arrests, confiscations and dismantling of the meth manufacturing areas were the result of the “strengthening” of security in Sinaloa, a state to which 1,600 additional soldiers were deployed after the attack on the MC deputies.

With reports from El Universal, Milenio, Reforma and Río Doce

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