Mexican Authorities Arrest Man Linked to Lime Farmer Extortion, Cartel Recruitment and Explosives Training

In a multi-agency operation in the Tierra Caliente region of southwest Michoacán, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch on Monday announced the arrest of Jhon Mario "N," also known as "El Llanero." Authorities said he was linked to the extortion of lime farmers, the recruitment and training of cartel members, and the manufacture of improvised explosive devices.

Mexican media report "Llanero" was born in Colombia and focused his criminal activity on extorting lime producers in Apatzingán and other parts of Tierra Caliente.

As reported by Animal Político, lime growers in the municipalities of Apatzingán and Buenavista have reported since at least 2023 that they are victims of extortion, which has forced them to suspend their work several times.

In August 2023, producers who farm nearly 42,000 hectares of lime in those municipalities said that criminal groups had increased extortion fees. In protest, the farmers stopped harvesting their lime and asked the authorities for help. In July of this year the federal government launched the National Strategy Against Extortion, under which 389 people have been arrested across 19 states.

On Oct. 9, Harfuch also revealed that Jhon Mario "N" was involved in recruiting and training hit men. According to Latinus, that training included teaching foreign operatives, mostly Colombians and Venezuelans, how to build and handle improvised explosive devices. Explosives are reportedly used as anti‑personnel land mines, improvised charges for mortars or thrown from large drones.

Historically, the Tierra Caliente region, which covers parts of Michoacán, Guerrero and the State of Mexico, has been a hub for organized crime and the origin of several major drug cartels and leaders such as La Familia Michoacana and Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho," leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).

Because Tierra Caliente is close to Pacific coast ports used to smuggle precursor chemicals and drugs, several criminal organizations operate there, including CJNG, Los Caballeros Templarios, Los Viagras, Cártel de Tepalcatepec and Cárteles Unidos, among other smaller groups and vigilante or self-defense organizations.

These criminal groups compete for control of drug production, particularly methamphetamine, as well as the extortion of business owners, farmers, merchants and transporters, among other illicit activities.