Paraguayan prosecutors arrested Hernán Bermúdez Requena, also called “El Abuelo,” on September 12, 2025, in Mariano Roque Alonso.
Authorities say he’s the suspected chief of “La Barredora,” a legal group working with the Jalisco New Era Cartel (CJNG), considered one of Mexico’s strongest drug cartels. Officers coordinated the high-profile seize with Mexican intelligence and anti-drug companies.
Bermúdez, a former Secretary of Safety for Tabasco, faces accusations of directing a part of CJNG’s worldwide operations. Mexican courts and Interpol issued a purple discover that triggered his arrest.
He had moved throughout a number of South and Central American international locations earlier than settling in Paraguay, the place authorities found his well-guarded house.
In the course of the arrest, Bermúdez rejected voluntary extradition, so he now stays beneath strict pre-trial detention in Paraguay because the 60-day extradition course of to Mexico begins.
This case exhibits how cartels use South America not only for drug routes, but additionally as a protected zone for operators on the run.
Paraguay’s function as a passage between Brazil and Argentina makes it a prime goal for legal networks searching for to keep away from legislation enforcement.
The arrest additionally highlights what occurs when legislation enforcement and governments within the area work collectively.
Presidents and prosecutors in each international locations made public statements emphasizing their zero-tolerance strategy to organized crime.
Paraguay Arrests Prime Mexican Jalisco Cartel Chief, Reveals Increasing Drug Routes
The story behind the headlines is about a lot a couple of arrest. Bermúdez’s trajectory from a senior police function to alleged cartel chief exhibits the deep ties organized crime can kind inside authorities ranks.
Enterprise leaders and peculiar folks throughout Latin America watch circumstances like this with concern, since they have an effect on each the financial setting and day by day security.
The sustained presence of high-level cartel operatives in new international locations can destabilize native markets, improve corruption danger, and threaten worldwide funding.
Paraguayan and Mexican authorities grounded this info in press conferences and judicial paperwork issued after September 12, 2025.
All bulletins got here from official sources. The story factors to a brand new degree of intergovernmental motion in opposition to transnational crime, confirming that even high-profile fugitives will face justice.
