Mexican Cartel Boss With USD 3M US Bounty Killed In Gunbattle With Cops

A Mexican cartel boss wanted by the United States with a USD 3 million reward on his head is believed to have been killed in a gun battle with security forces.

The clash happened during a major operation in Los Reyes, in the western Mexican state of Michoacan near the border with Jalisco, in the early hours of 31 August.

Luis Enrique Barragan Chavez, 39, was reportedly shot dead after federal forces moved into the area targeting members of the Los Reyes Cartel.

Barragan Chavez, also known as R5 or Wicho, was identified by US authorities as a senior figure in the cartel and its chief of gunmen.

Michoacan Governor Alfredo Ramirez Bedolla confirmed that Mexican Army troops, the National Guard and the state Civil Guard had carried out an operation in Los Reyes and that an armed confrontation had taken place.

He said: “We confirm that there is an operation and a significant deployment in the area, involving both the Ministry of National Defence, our Civil Guard and the National Guard, and this operation was carried out in Los Reyes.”

The governor did not confirm Barragan Chavez's death, saying prosecutors were still establishing exactly what had happened.

He added: “Information is still being confirmed. It was an operation in which there was a confrontation and we are awaiting the official report that will be provided by the State Attorney General's Office, whose agents are already at the scene.”

Local media, citing military sources, reported that Barragan Chavez had been killed during the raid.

Authorities said security operations were also under way in Periban, Tinguindin, Tocumbo and Cotija as part of efforts to tackle extortion across western Michoacan.

The region borders Jalisco and has seen criminal activity involving the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and local groups allied to United Cartels.

The US Government had offered a reward of up to USD 3 million for information leading to Barragan Chavez's arrest or conviction.

American authorities had been investigating him since 2019 after a car crash in Tennessee led investigators to methamphetamine and subsequently to a drug stash in Atlanta, Georgia.

The investigation was later traced to a trafficking network linked to United Cartels and eventually to Barragan Chavez.

US prosecutors charged him in Washington DC in July 2023 with offences linked to drug trafficking and firearms.

Further charges were announced against Barragan Chavez and four other United Cartels leaders in August 2025.

The US State Department said Barragan Chavez used proceeds from narcotics sold in the United States to finance armed operations in Michoacan.

He was accused of obtaining heavy weapons, armoured vehicles and drones capable of dropping explosives, as well as recruiting fighters for cartel operations.

Barragan Chavez had emerged as a leading figure in the Los Reyes Cartel following the arrest of alleged cartel boss Alfonso Fernandez Magallon on 1 August.

The Michoacan Attorney General's Office is expected to issue an official account once investigations at the scene have been completed.

(Newsflash)