The fugitive son of a jailed high-ranking Mexican cartel leader has claimed in a new interview that he and his father have been wrongfully accused in the murder of his influencer ex-girlfriend.

Francisco Álvarez and his father Ramón Álvarez, a regional leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel who on Wednesday was indicted on drug trafficking charges in Washington, DC, were named last month as the masterminds behind the killing of Valeria Márquez, who was executed during a TikTok livestream in her beauty salon in Zapopan on May 13, 2025.

“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 told Mexican journalist Luis Chaparro of “Pie de Nota.”

“I mean, was the person making such statement actually present when I supposedly asked for that favor? Of course not.

“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.”

Their 30-minute interview, which was held in an undisclosed location in the western Mexico state of Jalisco, aired on the outlet’s YouTube channel on Aug. 21.

Mexico security chief Omar García Harfuch linked the father and son to Márquez’s murder during a July 31 press conference to announce the previous day’s arrest of Ramón Álvarez — who is known as “R1” — for the November 2025 assassination of Uruapan, Michoacán Mayor Carlos Manzo.

“R1’s son was in a romantic relationship with Valeria and had already threatened her on several occasions; all indications – and this is about to be proven – are that the son asked his father, ‘R1,’ to commit the femicide,” García Harfuch said.

The following day, on Aug. 1, police arrested a second suspect identified as Iván Martín, for his “possible involvement prior to, during, and after the attack that claimed the victim’s life,” according to the Jalisco State Attorney General’s Office.

After learning that someone had visited the store asking for her, Márquez’s wondered during the livestream if someone was looking to harm her.

“Maybe they were going to kill me or something,” she said.

The gunman, who has not been identified and remains at large, walked up to Márquez during the livestream, got her to confirm who she was and then shot her three times before fleeing, according to authorities.

The Attorney General’s Office announced on Aug. 6 that between two and three more people may have been involved in the plot to execute Márquez.

Francisco Álvarez told the Pie de Nota outlet that he first met Márquez in 2021 when she was working as a promoter at a nightclub in the Jalisco capital city of Guadalajara. They began seriously dating in 2024 and ultimately moved in together.

He said that Márquez met his father, attended his birthday party and was aware of who he was.

Francisco Álvarez said they split in January 2025 — but remained friends and saw each other in April.

The cartel leader’s son said he was at his home — several blocks away away from Márquez’s business — at the time of Márquez’s killing, and that they exchanged text messages in the hours before she was executed.

“A friend called me … told me, ‘I tuned in to watch a live stream of Valeria’s, and – well – she got shot right there,'” Francisco Álvarez said.

Francisco Álvarez, who learned of the government’s accusation through social media, claimed during the interview that investigators recovered Márquez’s cell phones and that the messages that they exchanged prior to the shooting would clear him of any wrongdoing.

He explained that he chose not to attend her funeral services because he was receiving hate messages on social media, but did reach out to Márquez’s father to explain his absence.

Francisco Álvarez said that he “has no idea” who was behind Márquez’s shooting.

“I am completely innocent; I have nothing to do with it,” he said. “She was my partner; there is nothing that would have made me want to commit such a barbaric act.”

When asked why he decided to come forward while on the run from the law, Francisco Álvarez said he feared police would pull him over in a vehicle, set him up with drugs and guns and pin Márquez’s murder on him without the public getting to hear his version of the story.

“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.

The Post reached out to the Jalisco State Attorney General’s Office for comment.

It’s unknown if Francisco Álvarez’s father will be extradited to the US following his indictment by a federal grand jury him on Wednesday.

From 2004 to December 2023, Ramón Álvarez and his brother, Rafael Álvarez, allegedly conspired to manufacture and distribute five or more kilos of cocaine and more than 500 grams of methamphetamine that was imported into the US, according to the Department of Justice.

The DOJ said the Álvarez siblings were also slapped with a firearm charges, including the use of a machine gun, as part of their drug trafficking conspiracy.

“The Department of Justice is committed to the total elimination of drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in a statement.

Each of the siblings is facing a minimum punishment of 40 years in prison and the maximum penalty of two life sentences.