The mayor of Taxco de Alarcón, Juan Andrés Vega Carranza, and his father, pediatrician Juan Vega Arredondo, were found alive on Monday in the municipality of Zacualpan, State of Mexico, after being held captive by the La Familia Michoacana criminal group.
Omar García Harfuch, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, reported the details of their release during Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo’s press conference.
He explained that their location was achieved through intelligence work and technical analysis that allowed authorities to identify possible routes of movement toward the State of Mexico, where they were taken into custody by the State of Mexico’s Public Security Secretariat and subsequently transported by air to Iguala, Guerrero, to confirm their health status.
García Harfuch also announced their release hours earlier via his social media account, stating that the two men were safe and sound.
Juan Vega Arredondo, also the director of the IMSS Bienestar general hospital in Taxco, was kidnapped on the morning of April 11 when armed men abducted him and abandoned his vehicle in Acamixtla, a town located 20 minutes from the municipal seat on the road to Cuernavaca.
The Guerrero State Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into the crime of enforced disappearance committed by private individuals.
Two days later, in the early hours of Monday, Juan Andrés Vega Carranza left his home with his bodyguards to negotiate his father’s release.
Near the Casahuates neighborhood, the mayor was detained without any intervention from his security detail.
Sources consulted by the newspaper El Sur revealed that La Familia Michoacana was seeking an exchange: they demanded the release of Juan “N,” nicknamed “El Gokú,” the plaza boss of Taxco, who was arrested on April 8. His capture led to a temporary blockade of access to the municipal seat by truckers.
According to the same sources, the mayor voluntarily attended a meeting with the criminal group in Zacualpan to ensure his father’s safe release.
Upon learning of the mayor’s disappearance, García Harfuch ordered an operation in the border region between Guerrero and the State of Mexico.
The Undersecretary of Political and Social Development of the federal government, Francisco Rodríguez Cisneros, reported that the standardized search protocol was activated with the participation of all three levels of government.
The operation involved members of the Mexican Army, the Navy, the National Guard, as well as police forces from Guerrero, Morelos, and the State of Mexico.
More than 500 personnel were deployed, along with armed helicopters, drones, and all-terrain vehicles; raids were also carried out on safe houses in Tonatico and Ixtapan de la Sal.
At approximately 3:00 p.m. on Monday, García Harfuch confirmed the location of the father and son.
“Following a coordinated federal operation, involving the deployment of personnel on the ground and helicopter support, thanks to the effective coordination of the National Defense Secretariat, the Navy Secretariat, the Attorney General’s Office, the National Guard, and the Secretariat of Public Security and Citizen Protection… the Mayor of Taxco de Alarcón, Juan Andrés Vega Carranza, and his father were located by personnel from the Secretariat of Public Security of the State of Mexico,” he stated.
García Harfuch did not report any arrests.
The Governor of Guerrero, Evelyn Salgado Pineda, shared the same message and indicated that the release was the result of coordination among authorities at all three levels of government, with a permanent deployment in the northern region of the state.
Rodríguez Cisneros led the official escort for the Mayor and his father, who were received upon disembarking from a helicopter at the facilities of the 27th Infantry Battalion in Iguala.
Both were taken to a hospital for medical evaluation.
On March 3, 2026, four warehouses were seized and seven people linked to extortion and control of local businesses were arrested.
The city has been under the influence of La Familia Michoacana for approximately a decade, with a recent internal split between factions led by the fugitive former Mayor Mario Figueroa Mundo and Roberto Carlos Zagal Jacobo, nicknamed “El Pelón” (The Bald One), son of the former plaza boss José Ranulfo Zagal, known as “El Rani,” who has regained control of the area.
Jacinto González Varona, president of the Morena State Executive Committee, stated that the situation “deeply pains the party” and that Juan Andrés Vega Carranza’s arrival as mayor represented a break with the relationship the previous municipal government maintained with organized crime.
“It was common knowledge in Taxco that crime was part of the previous municipal government, whose former mayor, by the way, is a fugitive, and Morena’s arrival with Mayor Juan Andrés Vega marks a turning point, separating the government from crime, from organized crime,” González Varona declared.
The party leader called on Morena mayors to strengthen their security protocols and coordinate any actions with federal institutions.
Source: noroeste
