Mexico's security minister under President Claudia Sheinbaum, appointed in October 2024. Previously served as Mexico City's security chief under Ms Sheinbaum when she was mayor, during which time the city's murder rate fell by about 40%.
In 2020 the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) carried out a brazen assassination attempt, firing more than 400 bullets into his convoy and killing two of his bodyguards. He survived.
Mr Harfuch's staff is overtly data-driven. He has been given broad new powers over co-ordination and intelligence, and his allies have been put in charge of key institutions, including the financial-intelligence unit that traces dirty money. He targets the most violent gangsters rather than the kingpins, as well as those involved in logistics such as money-laundering. Arrests are at record levels and firearms seizures have more than doubled.
His new federal police corps has recruited only 1,500 officers so far. The government has urged states to employ 25% more police officers by 2029, and 30% more prosecutors.
In 2023 he bid for mayor of Mexico City under the Morena party, winning the nomination in a landslide, but stood aside for the female runner-up so the party could meet its gender quota. His approval rating hovers near 70%. He denies presidential ambitions.
On February 22nd 2026 Mr Harfuch oversaw the operation in which Mexican special forces killed Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes, the boss of CJNG, in Jalisco. During a press conference on February 23rd he said his security cabinet would be "very attentive to…restructuring within the cartel, especially if it's going to be violent".
Time sure flies when you don't know what you're doing.