Francisco Álvarez, the fugitive son of a jailed Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader, has asserted his innocence in the murder of his influencer ex-girlfriend, Valeria Márquez, who was killed in May 2025. In an interview with Mexican journalist Luis Chaparro, Francisco Álvarez stated that neither he nor his father, Ramón Álvarez, had any role in Márquez's death.
"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 said. "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 Álvarez, known as “R1,” is a regional leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. He was indicted on drug trafficking charges in Washington, D.C., on August 27, 2025. Mexican security chief Omar García Harfuch had previously linked both father and son to Márquez's murder on July 31, following Ramón Álvarez's arrest the previous day for the November 2024 assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo.
García Harfuch stated that Francisco Álvarez had been in a romantic relationship with Márquez and had threatened her multiple times, suggesting the son asked his father to commit the femicide. Francisco Álvarez maintains they broke up in January 2025 but remained friends, seeing each other in April.
Márquez, a 23-year-old beauty influencer, was shot and killed inside her salon in Zapopan on May 13, 2025, during a TikTok livestream. In the video, she expressed fear that someone was looking for her, saying, "Maybe they were going to kill me or something." The gunman approached her during the livestream, confirmed her identity, and then shot her before fleeing. The gunman has not been identified and remains at large.
Authorities arrested a second suspect, Iván Martín, on August 1, 2025, for his alleged involvement before, during, and after the attack. The Jalisco State Attorney General’s Office announced on August 6, 2025, that two to three more individuals may have been involved.
Francisco Álvarez told Chaparro that he was at his home, several blocks away from Márquez's salon, at the time of her killing and that they had exchanged text messages hours prior. He learned of the accusation through social media. He stated that investigators recovered Márquez's phones and believes her text messages would exonerate him. He chose not to attend her funeral due to receiving hate messages online but did contact Márquez's father.
He explained his decision to speak out while evading authorities stemmed from a fear of being set up by police. "I didn’t think about turning myself in because I haven’t committed any crime," he said. "If a judge were to summon me, of course, I could go and give a statement. I’m open to that. There’s no reason for me to refuse. I mean, I’m innocent of that."
Ramón Álvarez and his brother, Rafael Álvarez, are accused by the Department of Justice of conspiring from 2004 to December 2023 to manufacture and distribute cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States. They also face firearm charges related to the drug trafficking conspiracy. Both face significant prison sentences if convicted. It remains unclear if Ramón Álvarez will be extradited to the U.S. following his indictment.