---
name: "José Manuel Mireles Valverde"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jose-manuel-mireles-valverde"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "24 October 1958"
died: "25 November 2020"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-17T05:18:20.503647+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# José Manuel Mireles Valverde

Actor. Born 24 October 1958 in Tepalcatepec, Michoacán, Mexico. Died 25 November 2020.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 24 October 1958, Tepalcatepec, Michoacán, Mexico
- **Died:** 25 November 2020
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1541111

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Cartel Land*](https://film.one/film/cartel-land.md) (75)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

José Manuel Mireles Valverde (24 October 1958 – 25 November 2020) was a Mexican medical doctor and leader of self-defence groups in Michoacán. He founded and headed the Autodefensas, civilian militias formed to combat the Knights Templar Cartel in the region from 2013 onwards.

Mireles appeared as himself in the 2015 documentary film *Cartel Land*, directed by Matthew Heineman. The film follows his activities alongside those of an American vigilante group and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. He was also featured in later television productions including *Narco Wars* (2021).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Cartel Land* (2015), Fi1m 75, as Himself — [page](https://film.one/film/cartel-land.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jose-manuel-mireles-valverde