Key Facts
- Shootout. Édgar Aarón Vázquez Alvarado, known as El General, died on 5 November 2026 in Naucalpan, near Mexico City.
- US sanctions. The US Treasury sanctioned him on 19 November 2025 for allegedly protecting Canadian ex-Olympian Ryan James Wedding.
- Raids. On 5 November, Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch reported 32 arrests in 38 raids in the State of Mexico.
- Buen Fin. Mexico’s national business chamber, Concanaco, expects 235 billion pesos (US$12.5 billion) in sales from 13 to 17 November.
- Debt. Mexico’s public debt measure stood at 52.6% of GDP at the end of September.
- Power Index. Mexico ranks 2nd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 70.8 points (November 2026 edition).
Federal forces killed El General, the alleged leader of a criminal group near Mexico City, on 5 November, in a week of cartel arrests and just before Mexico’s Buen Fin shopping weekend, forecast at 235 billion pesos (US$12.5 billion).
In Plain English
- Omar García Harfuch: Mexico’s federal Security Secretary, the minister in charge of public security.
- Cártel Nuevo Imperio: A criminal group active in the State of Mexico and Mexico City, which Harfuch says El General led.
- El Buen Fin: A yearly five-day sale, Mexico’s answer to Black Friday, run by the government, retailers and banks.
- Concanaco: The national confederation of Mexican chambers of commerce, services and tourism.
- Names ending in N: Mexican authorities often give suspects only a first name and the letter N, for a withheld surname.
How Mexican Forces Killed the Cartel Boss El General
Federal agents killed Édgar Aarón Vázquez Alvarado, known as El General, in a shootout on 5 November 2026 in Naucalpan de Juárez, a city next to Mexico City, and two people died in all. Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s federal Security Secretary, described him as the founder and leader of the Cártel Nuevo Imperio, a criminal group active in the State of Mexico and Mexico City boroughs.
The Security Cabinet, a group of senior federal security officials, said agents from the Security Ministry, the Navy, the federal Attorney General’s investigations agency and the civilian intelligence centre came under fire in Naucalpan. They were doing field work to carry out warrants, and the second person who died has not been identified.
Harfuch said investigators regarded El General as the alleged intellectual author, meaning the person who ordered it, of the killing of Milton Morales Figueroa. Morales coordinated the Strategy, Tactics and Operations Unit of the Mexico City police and was shot dead in Coacalco, State of Mexico, in July 2024.
Authorities say El General was investigated for kidnapping, extortion, homicide, money laundering, fuel theft and drug trafficking to the US and Canada, though none of this has been proven in court. The US Treasury sanctioned him on 19 November 2025 for allegedly protecting Ryan James Wedding, a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder charged by US prosecutors in a cocaine case.
What Other Cartel Arrests Mexico Announced This Week
On Wednesday, 4 November, the government announced the arrest of Samuel N, known as El Panda, whom officials call the regional chief of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a powerful trafficking group, in southern Veracruz. The Navy made the arrest, which grew out of a case that began with the kidnapping of two businessmen in January 2026, and officers seized 398,000 pesos (about US$21,200).
The same day, Harfuch announced the arrest in Mexico City of Bojun N, accused of leading a money laundering network for a criminal organisation and of extorting merchants. Harfuch said officers seized more than 43 million pesos (about US$2.3 million at 18.76 pesos to the dollar (RT close, 5 November)) in cash, in pesos and dollars.
On 5 November, Harfuch reported 32 arrests in 38 raids in the State of Mexico, with the backing of President Claudia Sheinbaum and Governor Delfina Gómez. The raids also produced 111 phones, 52 cars, 22 tanker trucks and 20 firearms, and targets included a man accused of running an illegal gas network.
Nothing we reviewed links the Veracruz and Mexico City cases to one another, and the Veracruz arrest began as a kidnapping inquiry. Harfuch said investigations into the Mexico City laundering cell continue.
What Mexico’s Public Debt Shows After Nine Months
Mexico’s broadest public debt measure, which counts the debt of the whole public sector, reached 19.554 trillion pesos (about US$1.04 trillion at 18.76 pesos to the dollar (RT close, 5 November)) at the end of September 2026. That is 52.6% of GDP, according to Finance Ministry data compiled by IMCO, a Mexican think tank.
Total public revenue fell against the first nine months of 2025, largely because oil revenue dropped 21.5% in real terms, meaning after inflation. The Finance Ministry says the budget deficit is about 244 billion pesos (about US$13 billion) below the level planned, although IMCO notes it grew 18.6% in real terms from a year earlier.
What Mexico Expects From the Buen Fin Sale
Mexico’s business chambers expect 235 billion pesos (about US$12.5 billion) in sales during El Buen Fin, which runs from Friday, 13 November, to Tuesday, 17 November 2026. Concanaco Servytur, the national confederation of chambers of commerce, services and tourism, puts the figure 7.3% above 2025.
Physical stores should take 186 billion pesos (US$9.9 billion), or 79% of the total. Online sales make up the rest.
The tax agency SAT will run a prize pool of 500 million pesos (about US$27 million) for card purchases of at least 250 pesos (about US$13) at registered businesses between 13 and 17 November. The draw takes place on Friday, 4 December.
The reports behind this Big Read
What It Means for US Readers
US readers have a direct stake in the security story, because the US Treasury sanctioned El General in November 2025 and authorities say he was investigated for fuel theft and drug trafficking to the US and Canada. Washington has also treated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as a foreign terrorist organisation since February 2025, and we have seen no US reaction to the killing so far.
For investors, the peso traded at about 18.76 to the dollar on 5 November, and the debt ratio and the Buen Fin result are two numbers to follow. Black Friday in the US falls on 27 November, ten days after Buen Fin ends, and travellers can check current US government guidance because we offer no travel advice.
What to Watch Next
Business registration for Buen Fin closes on Thursday, 12 November, and the sale runs from Friday, 13 November, to Tuesday, 17 November. INEGI, Mexico’s statistics institute, is due to publish October inflation on Monday 9 November, after annual inflation of 3.45% in September and 3.62% in the first half of October.
The SAT draw takes place on Friday, 4 December, with winners listed from Monday, 7 December. Authorities say they will keep identifying and arresting other members of the Cártel Nuevo Imperio, though they have given no dates.
What Is Not Known
Sources disagree on the type of warrant in Naucalpan, on the date of the Morales killing (20 or 21 July 2024) and on whether El Panda was detained on 3 or 4 November. The second person who died is unidentified, and no forensic confirmation of El General’s identity has been published.
We could not confirm full-year deficit figures for 2026, so we do not quote them. The Buen Fin forecast comes only from Concanaco, and no official start hour for the sale has been confirmed.
Sources
The Rio Times: Mexico Buen Fin 2026 sales forecast · Uno TV: Buen Fin 2026, Concanaco estimates sales of 235 billion pesos · La Crónica: Alistan Buen Fin 2026 · The Rio Times: El General and the Nuevo Imperio cartel · El Financiero: Abaten a El General, líder del Cártel Nuevo Imperio
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was El General?
Édgar Aarón Vázquez Alvarado was, Mexican authorities say, the founder and leader of the Cártel Nuevo Imperio, killed on 5 November 2026 in Naucalpan de Juárez. He was investigated for kidnapping, extortion and other crimes, none proven in court.
How big is the Buen Fin sale expected to be?
Concanaco Servytur forecasts 235 billion pesos (about US$12.5 billion), up 7.3% on 2025, from 13 to 17 November 2026.
Why did the US sanction El General?
The US Treasury sanctioned him on 19 November 2025 for allegedly protecting Ryan James Wedding, a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder charged in a US cocaine case.