American Jeweler & Alleged Money Launderer Kidnapped and Later Released in Tres Ríos, Culiacán

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Businessman and jeweler Luis Mario Zúñiga Ramos, who was kidnapped Thursday morning by armed men in the Tres Ríos Urban Development in Culiacán, has been identified as a U.S. citizen, sources confirmed to various Mexican media outlets.

Nearly 48 hours later he was released after being held in Culiacán, Sinaloa. He had been intercepted by armed men in the parking lot of Plaza Real.

Luis Mario Zúñiga Ramos is a member of the renowned Ramos family who has maintained luxury jewelry and watch stores in Sinaloa and other Mexican states for over 70 years.

He also allegedly has a family connection to Jesús María Tarriba Unger, husband of President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Luis Mario is believed to have been one time friends of both Vicente Zambada Niebla, son of Mayo Zambada, and Ovidio Guzmán López “Ratón” son of Chapo Guzmán, as well. One of the intial reasons it's believed he was taken is for laundering money for the opposing side in the internal Sinaloa Cartel war, according to social media posts on X by Ivan's Daily News, La Mayiza/MF had kidnapped him.

However All Sources News cites "an anonymous Mexican security source claims that initial suspicions is that Chapitos are responsible for this kidnapping."

Culiacán Kidnapping

Thursday morning, September 17, Luis Mario was kidnapped in the Tres Ríos neighborhood of Culiacán. Hours later, the state's Secretary of Public Security, Sinuhé Téllez López, confirmed that the victim was Luis Mario Zúñiga Ramos , owner of Luis Mario Z. Ramos, a high-end jewelry store in the Sinaloa capital.

The 49-year -old businessman was traveling in his armored Audi and was about to visit his jewelry store, located in unit number 9 of Plaza Real, on the intersection of Diego Valadez and Enrique Sánchez Alonso boulevards , across the street from the Forum shopping center.

Upon arriving at Plaza Real, Luis Mario Zúñiga Ramos was intercepted by armed men who took him out of his vehicle and put him in another to take him to an unknown destination , leaving the businessman's Audi vehicle abandoned. Reports indicate that the individuals allegedly threatened him and forced him into a vehicle, before leaving the scene.

The Sinaloa Attorney General's Office has also not publicly explained the circumstances surrounding his kidnapping or return. Before his release was announced, authorities reported they had maintained communication with his family while the search continued.

Raton Instagram Post

The first post on his Instagram account on November 30, 2022, was a picture and video of a pendandant of a mouse or ratón, encrusted in diamonds, with silver and 18K gold.

Ramos Jewelry Family

Luis Mario Zúñiga Ramos belongs to a family dedicated to the jewelry business in Culiacán, Sinaloa, for decades. The tradition began with Mario Ramos Rojo's jewelry store and continued with Mario Ramos Tarriba, a relative of the President's husband.

At the 2025 opening of the Mario Ramos jewelry store in Mazatlan, Mario Ramos stated;

“On behalf of the Ramos family, we are very happy to have arrived in Mazatlán. We are originally from Culiacán, lifelong residents of Sinaloa. We are a company that my grandfather founded in 1948, and Mazatlán was a city where we had wanted to be for a long time, and we come with the desire to be here for many years,” said Mario Ramos Bauche, CEO of the jewelry store, before the ribbon-cutting ceremony, where he was accompanied by his father, Mario Ramos Tarriba

Sources Luz Noticias, Ivan's Daily News, Bien Informado, Milenio, Oscar Mario Betata

Categories: Claudia Sheinbaum, Los Chapitos, Los Mayos, sinaloa cartel