‘I Bear No Guilt’: Fugitive Son of Cartel Leader Denies Responsibility in Death of TikTok Influencer Girlfriend

Screenshot via Pie De Nota

The fugitive son of a Mexican cartel leader has denied in a new interview that he and his father were involved in the killing of his TikTok influencer girlfriend.

Francisco Álvarez rejected Mexican authorities’ claims that he and his father, Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, a leader in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, were behind the May 2025 killing of Valeria Márquez.

“I don’t understand how anyone can accuse us, saying things like, ‘Oh, he asked his dad for a favor,’ when there is absolutely no basis for it,” Francisco Álvarez told journalist Luis Chaparro on Pie De Nota.

Álvarez added, “So, if I bear no guilt and am innocent in this matter, then naturally my dad is innocent, too, because he wasn’t involved in any of that.”

Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayalam, also known as “R1,” was arrested this week on drug trafficking charges. He was charged with “conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine for importation into the United States and possessing a firearm, including a machine gun, in furtherance of the drug trafficking offense,” according to the Department of Justice.

Mexico’s Public Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch previously connected the cartel leader to the death of Márquez, who was 23 when she was killed during a livestream. The TikTok influencer collapsed during the livestream at her beauty salon after being shot. She had made a comment during the livestream that she may be in danger after someone said a person had been around asking about her.

“This criminal cell allegedly participated under his orders in coordinating multiple violent acts in the region. Among them is the tragic feminicide of Valeria Márquez, which occurred in May 2025 in Zapopan, Jalisco, a crime linked to Francisco, the victim’s former partner and Ramón Ángel’s son,” García Harfuch announced.

He said that authorities are still investigating the matter and that Francisco Álvarez had threatened Márquez on multiple occasions and they are currently “searching” for him.

“We learned that R-1’s son had a romantic relationship with Valeria,” he said. “He had threatened her on several occasions and everything indicates, and this will be proven, that the son asked his father, R-1, to carry out the feminicide.”

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