Overview
- Mexican security forces detained Ivan Cazarin Molina, known as “El Tanque,” in Zapopan, Jalisco, and Security Minister Omar García Harfuch published images of him in custody.
- Authorities say Molina is an alleged regional leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and that investigations link him to homicides, kidnappings, extortion and a 2015 attack on an army helicopter.
- The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Molina in September 2024, saying his fuel theft generated tens of millions of dollars a year for himself and CJNG.
- U.S. and Mexican officials allege Molina ran a network of apparently legitimate gas stations and intermediaries that sold stolen fuel inside Mexico and to buyers who moved product into Texas.
- Officials frame the arrest as part of an intensified U.S.-Mexico campaign after the 2026 death of El Mencho, but prosecutors, potential extradition and the effect on CJNG finances and violence remain unclear.