Sources tracking cartel power shifts say the next boss of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación could be a name most people have never heard but soon will, Abraham Jesús Ambriz Cano, better known on the streets as El Yogurt.
Behind the almost laughable nickname is a deadly serious operator. El Yogurt has quietly risen through the CJNG ranks and now commands his own elite unit inside the cartel, a faction known as Operativa Yogurt, also called Los Yogures. This group is plugged directly into the cartel’s enforcement and logistics machine, with active crews spread across Jalisco, Quintana Roo, Colima and the Sierra Madre Occidental in Michoacán.
Born on March 16, 1997, in Apatzingán, Yogurt did not start out loyal to CJNG. His early cartel career was tied to Los Viagras, at the time part of Cárteles Unidos, an alliance formed specifically to push back against CJNG expansion. During this phase, he built close relationships with other anti CJNG figures, including Luis Barragán Chávez, known as El R5, the leader of the Los Reyes group.
Then came the switch.
By 2022, Yogurt had flipped sides and joined the very cartel he once opposed. According to multiple reports, CJNG did not bring him in as a battlefield commander but as a strategist. His real value was allegedly his ability to design, expand and secure drug trafficking corridors feeding directly into the United States. He was reportedly placed in charge of U.S. bound trafficking routes running through Colima and Jalisco, a role that generates enormous cash flow.
That money bought muscle. Yogurt is said to favor recruiting former soldiers from Colombian and Guatemalan armed forces, importing professional military experience into cartel operations. The profits he generated made those hires possible and strengthened his position inside CJNG.
For much of this time, Yogurt stayed active outside Michoacán. That changed in late 2022 when violence flared again in the state. Old alliances collapsed fast. His men ended up fighting former partners from Los Reyes and Los Viagras, turning yesterday’s allies into today’s enemies.
In December 2022, Yogurt surfaced publicly in a video where he accused a local commander of collaborating with CJNG, a move that raised eyebrows and hinted at internal fractures and power plays behind the scenes.
Then came the near capture.
In May 2025, the Mexican Navy launched an operation to arrest El Yogurt in Huitzontla, Michoacán. What followed was a fierce counterattack by his gunmen. The clash left twelve CJNG fighters dead, three marines wounded and nine cartel gunmen captured. El Yogurt escaped.
For analysts watching cartel succession battles, that escape mattered. Surviving a direct Navy operation does not just build fear, it builds legend. Inside CJNG, reputation is currency, and El Yogurt’s stock appears to be rising fast.
If current trends continue, insiders warn that this relatively young trafficker, built more on logistics than brute force, could be positioning himself for something much bigger. The question is not whether El Yogurt is dangerous. The question is how close he is to the top.
