DOUBLE HIT

Cartel Boss Accused in Beauty Influencer’s Livestream Murder

He is also accused of arranging the killing of a mayor and father of two.

A Mexican cartel boss has been arrested and accused of ordering a hit on an influencer while she was live streaming. Prosecutors say that senior Jalisco New Generation Cartel member Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, known as “El R1,” was behind the attack, as well as a hit on a mayor during Day of the Dead celebrations. On Thursday, a special forces operation was carried out in the state of Jalisco, which led to a member of Ayala’s security detail being killed. In her stream, TikToker Valeria Márquez, 23, was seen clutching a stuffed toy in a beauty salon in Zapopan, Jalisco, when she said a delivery had arrived for her. After she confirmed her name, she was shot twice. Federal security secretary Omar García Harfuch said she had been in a relationship with one of El R1’s sons, who, after making threats to her, had asked his father to arrange the hit. Both he and the gunman are still at large. The second killing took place in Uruapan, Michoacan, in November, when a teenager approached Carlos Manzo during celebrations and shot the father of two in the back. The teen was killed at the scene.