Mexican forces capture CJNG fuel-theft kingpin “El Tanque” in Jalisco

Security minister Omar Garcia Harfuch announced that Ivan Cazarin Molina, known as “El Tanque,” was captured on Monday in the town of Zapopan, Jalisco. Mexican authorities describe Molina as a regional commander of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel who runs an extensive fuel-theft scheme, sells stolen gasoline through legitimate-looking stations, and distributes it to third parties in Mexico and the United States, especially Texas.

He is also linked to multiple homicides, kidnappings, drug trafficking, and the 2015 helicopter attack that killed Army and Federal Police personnel. The U.S. Treasury placed him on its sanctions list in September 2024, citing his role in generating tens of millions of dollars for the cartel each year. Fuel theft, or “huachicol,” is now the cartel’s second-largest revenue stream after drugs, according to U.S. officials. The capture follows a recent U.S. State Department offer of a $25 million bounty for the cartel’s new leader, the stepson of “El Mencho.”