A man preliminarily identified by authorities as Iván Manjarrez, an alleged local operator for the La Línea criminal faction, was among several people killed after a gun battle in San Juanito, a community in Bocoyna municipality in Mexico’s Chihuahua state.
The confrontation occurred on Saturday night, August 22, when members of the Chihuahua State Investigation Agency encountered armed civilians in the center of San Juanito, near a taco business, according to initial official accounts. The exchange of gunfire continued for several minutes and alarmed residents. Rural Police officers from the state Public Security Secretariat arrived to support the investigators and reinforce security in the area.
Authorities preliminarily identified one of the dead as Manjarrez, who was also known as “El 19” and “El Roy.” They described him as an operator and local leader for La Línea, a faction linked to the Juárez Cartel in the Sierra Tarahumara. The report also associated him with violent acts, disappearances and torture, allegations that had not been adjudicated in the account.
Several bullet-damaged vehicles were found at the scene. Inside a vehicle carrying California license plates, officers located the body of a man known as “Bofo” and an AR-15-style rifle, according to the authorities’ report.
During subsequent patrols, police found a gray RAM pickup they believed was connected to the confrontation. Authorities said armed civilians traveling in at least six vehicles fired on officers as they approached. Police returned fire, and the attackers fled. No Public Security Secretariat officer was injured, the official account said.
Residents gave a broader but unconfirmed account of the casualties. They said a nephew of “El Roy” and two other young men were also killed, while additional members of the group were wounded. Authorities had not confirmed the total number of victims at the time of the report, making the residents’ claims distinct from the preliminary official findings.
Officers seized a 2026 RAM Big Horn pickup, four ammunition magazines, three ballistic vests and three pieces of tactical equipment. They also recovered eight packages containing a substance with characteristics resembling marijuana. The evidence was transferred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which was expected to open an investigation and determine the legal status of any people connected to the case.
Security agencies said they would continue ground patrols and use crewed and uncrewed aircraft in the search for people they consider drivers of violence. The operations were also intended to reinforce security in San Juanito and nearby communities as investigators worked to establish the full casualty count and circumstances of the clash.
