Who is Maria Julissa? Mexican model touted as CJNG boss El Mencho's girlfriend denies claims as AI-generated images go viral

Maria Julissa is a Sonora born social media personality who built her online following through modelling, fashion content, travel updates and lifestyle posts. She runs an active Instagram presence under the handle @mariajulissa13 and also has a strong subscriber base on adult content platforms like OnlyFans.

Before this week, her digital identity was mostly centred around brand collaborations, club appearances and personal content. Her name had never been publicly linked to organised crime or cartel networks in any official capacity. That changed overnight after one viral post claimed she was the last person seen with El Mencho before his death.

On February 24, an influencer account on X shared what it described as the final photo of El Mencho. The post showed a man posing beside a woman in a nightclub setting and alleged that the woman was Maria Julissa who had informed authorities about his safehouse.

The image quickly gained traction. Within hours, it had received thousands of reposts and sparked multiple threads analysing the woman’s identity. Some users began circulating additional photos including one showing a woman wearing CJNG branded clothing.

No Mexican or US authority has confirmed Julissa’s name in connection with the raid. Officials have only stated that intelligence from an unnamed romantic partner helped track movement linked to the cartel leader.

Julissa responded through Instagram Stories soon after her name began trending. She wrote that posts claiming she had shared information about the incident were totally false and asked followers to report Facebook pages spreading fake stories about her involvement.

She also suggested that certain images and audio clips being shared online may have been digitally altered or created using artificial intelligence tools to make it appear as though she had ties to El Mencho. Mexican media outlets later reported that she described the circulating content as manipulated and misleading.

Social media reaction has been intense and divided. One user on X said, “Dear men never trust a woman with your location never trust a woman with your secret learn from Samson and Delilah.” Another user posted, “You telling me El Mencho never read the book of Proverbs.” However, not everyone treated the rumours as entertainment.

One user on X said, “You are by this post not helping Maria Julissa’s safety whether true or not.” Another wrote, “Y’all been putting people’s lives in grave danger and y’all see nothing wrong with it.” Several posts warned that sharing unverified claims about someone linked to a cartel figure could expose them to serious real world harm.

As of February 24, there is no official confirmation tying Maria Julissa to El Mencho or the Tapalpa raid. What began as an unverified social media claim has now evolved into a global trending topic fuelled by edited images and speculation.