Suspects in Killings of Activists Who Helped Expose Cartel Mass Grave Site Arrested In Mexico

Two suspects connected to the killings of a mother and son who were part of a civilian search group for missing persons in Jalisco have been arrested by state authorities.

The deaths of María del Carmen Morales and her son, Jaime Ramírez, garnered widespread attention last month after they were shot and killed in a residential area near Guadalajara. Their killings took place just weeks after they helped uncover a ranch allegedly used by the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) as a confinement, training and extermination center.

As reported by Proceso, the Jalisco Attorney General's Office announced the arrests of Juan Manuel "N" and José Luis "N" in connection with the April 23 killings. Prosecutors said the suspects are also linked to at least 10 other homicides and multiple other serious crimes.

Murdered weeks after helping uncover secrets behind CJNG-linked ranch

According to state prosecutors, Morales and her son were gunned down by assailants on a motorcycle while collecting water from a park fountain in Tlajomulco.

At the time of the attack, authorities said there was no evidence linking the killings to Morales' involvement with the civilian search group Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco, which in early March helped expose a ranch in Teuchitlán allegedly used by the CJNG to hold and kill victims.

However, members of the group later told El País that Morales had received multiple threats beginning in February 2024, shortly after she began searching for her son Ernesto, who had been forcibly disappeared in the same neighborhood.

"She was told to stop looking. First in a note left at her door, then by phone," said Raúl Servín, a spokesperson for the group. "They said there would be no third warning."

Though she stopped leading searches after the threats, Morales continued to support the group's work. Members say fear within the collective has grown since the discovery of the ranch, which was allegedly controlled by the CJNG and used to lure people with false job offers before forcing them into criminal activity or executing them.

Morales was the 28th search activist killed in Mexico since 2010, according to A dónde van los desaparecidos, a journalistic project that tracks disappearances and violence against searchers.

Another woman connected to the Teuchitlán ranch case, Teresa González Murillo, was shot in the face and killed in early April when armed men stormed her home. Known as "Teresita," she was a member of Luz de Esperanza Desaparecidos Jalisco (Light of Hope for the Disappeared) and had also received threats linked to her activism.