Senior Cartel Figure Suspected of Ordering Murder of Beauty Influencer
The leader of the Los Rs organization, linked to the CJNG cartel, is accused of orchestrating the murder of beauty influencer Valeria Marquez following her breakup with his son. The crime occurred during a live broadcast.
The leader of the Los Rs organization, linked to the CJNG crime syndicate, is accused of ordering the murder of beauty influencer Valeria Marquez after she broke up with his son. According to Mexican authorities, 23-year-old Marquez was broadcasting live to her followers from her beauty salon in Zapopan, Jalisco, in May of last year, when a gunman entered the premises and shot her. Authorities are now linking Ramon Angel Alvarez Ayala, known as El R1 and considered a senior figure in the cartel, to both her murder and the murder of a local mayor.
"R1's son had a romantic relationship with Valeria. He threatened her on several occasions, and everything points to the fact — and this will be proven — that the son asked his father, R1, to carry out the murder," said Mexico's Secretary of Public Security, Omar Garcia Harfuch. According to him, Francisco Alvarez, Ramon Angel's son, spoke with his father after the relationship ended to organize the hit. It is suspected that following the request, a shooter was sent to the salon posing as a delivery person, and he asked Marquez to confirm her identity before opening fire.
Details from the live stream are particularly difficult. Followers saw Marquez look out the salon window for a moment, then get hit by gunfire in the chest and head. Moments before the shooting, she told followers: "They are coming," and then a voice was heard off-frame asking: "Hey, Vala?". According to the report, she managed to place a hand on the gunshot wound near her ribs before collapsing.
Several hours earlier, Marquez told her more than 90,000 followers that a masked delivery person tried to bring her an expensive gift. "Maybe they were going to kill me or something," she said then. Previously, she also said she was receiving threats and claimed that her ex-partner "should be held responsible for anything that happens to me and my family." In another clip filmed moments before her death, she spoke about the changes she made in her life: "I changed. I don't go out anymore, I don't drink anymore, I stopped hanging out with criminals, I'm a good girl."
In June 2025, the US Treasury Department identified Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, known as Doble R, as a prime suspect in the murder. However, the Jalisco prosecutor's office clarified that there was no evidence in the local investigation file linking him to Marquez's death. According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, Doble R is identified as a senior member of the CJNG, while R1 heads a criminal cell linked to the cartel.
Mexican media claimed at the time that Doble R had been in a relationship with the TikToker for several months and was angry about expensive gifts she received from followers online. The report also mentioned his alleged criminal history since 2012, including alleged involvement in the murder of Venezuelan model Daisy Ferrer Arenas and the murder of influencer Juan Luis Lagunas after he insulted Nemesio Oseguera — the former cartel leader — in a viral video.
Alvarez Ayala was arrested on Thursday in a special forces operation, during which one of his security personnel was killed. According to authorities, his son and the shooter are still on the run. The other murder attributed to him is that of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo, who was shot in the back during the Day of the Dead festival. Manzo later died in the hospital, and the shooter was shot dead by his security team.
CJNG was declared a foreign terrorist organization last year by the Donald Trump administration. According to the report, it is involved in business extortion and drug trafficking, including cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. US Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson congratulated the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo on the arrest of El R1, although it is unclear what the extent of US involvement was.
Cartel founder Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, was killed earlier this year by authorities after being caught by the Mexican army in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about two hours' drive southwest of Guadalajara. His death sparked a wave of violence in about 20 Mexican states, with cars and businesses set on fire and schools temporarily closed. According to the report, he was buried in a gold coffin, alongside dozens of white rose bouquets — and one of them had a ribbon with the initials CJNG.
