Jalisco Mayor Detained Amid Cartel Training Camp Investigations**

The arrest of Teuchitlán's mayor is part of a wider investigation into alleged cartel activities, following the discovery of evidence suggesting the site was used for forced recruitment and training, casting a shadow on local governance.**

Prosecutors in Mexico have arrested the mayor of Teuchitlán, José Murguía Santiago, as part of an extensive investigation into a troubling cartel training site located in the Jalisco state. The mayor faces allegations of complicity with the notorious New Generation Jalisco Cartel (CJNG), an accusation he vehemently denies. The investigation was prompted earlier this year when activists uncovered disturbing evidence, including bone fragments alongside discarded shoes, backpacks, and clothing items at the Izaguirre ranch, which is situated near the town.

Rights organizations have voiced their concerns over the ranch, fearing it may have operated as an “extermination camp,” where individuals were forcibly recruited and trained, with those who resisted supposedly facing torture or death. This shocking revelation has sent waves of fear throughout a nation already grappling with rampant cartel violence.

During a recent press conference, Mexico's Attorney-General Alejandro Gertz confirmed that the ranch had indeed been utilized as a training facility for the CJNG, one of the most feared drug trafficking organizations in the country. However, Gertz clarified that there was no substantive evidence indicating the site served as an extermination and cremation location.

He dismissed claims regarding the recently discovered bone fragments, asserting that forensic analysis suggested they were not contemporary and that the fires ignited at the ranch lacked the necessary intensity to incinerate human remains. Such remarks have incited outrage among families searching for more than 120,000 individuals who have mysteriously disappeared in Mexico over the past two decades, with many expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of clarity surrounding the numerous abandoned items found at the ranch.

The arrest of Mayor Murguía Santiago represents a component of the ongoing inquiry into potential collusion between local officials and the CJNG. Before his arrest, the mayor declared his transparency, stating he had nothing to conceal and was open to investigation. However, prosecutors contend that he was aware of the training camp's existence and failed to act on that information. This development comes at a time when cartel-related disappearances have doubled in the Sinaloa region, as authorities grapple with deep-rooted issues of extortion and kidnapping, leaving many families in despair.