A high-ranking member of the notorious Crtel de Jalisco Nueva Generacin, Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, has been apprehended in California, accused of feigning his death and assuming a false identity to enjoy a life of luxury.
The 37-year-old cartel leader, who is also the son-in-law of the cartel's head, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, was charged with international drug trafficking and money laundering offenses.
According to The Independent, Gutierrez-Ochoa was arrested in Riverside, California, on November 19. Federal investigators speculate that his father-in-law, El Mencho, may have facilitated his escape into the U.S. by spreading rumors of his murder among cartel associates. This alleged ruse allowed Gutierrez-Ochoa to enter the U.S. undetected with the drug lord's daughter.
The Crtel de Jalisco Nueva Generacin, based in Jalisco, Mexico, is recognized as one of the globe's most violent and extensive drug trafficking organizations. Gutierrez-Ochoa, operating under the alias Luis Miguel Martinez, is believed to have joined the cartel around 2014. He is accused of coordinating the distribution of a staggering 40,000 kilograms of methamphetamine and 2,000 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S.
The charges against Gutierrez-Ochoa extend beyond drug trafficking. Federal investigators allege that in November 2021, he kidnapped two members of the Mexican Navy to negotiate the release of Cervantes' wife, who was in Mexican custody. Following this audacious act, Gutierrez-Ochoa reportedly fled to the U.S., where he resided in a lavish Riverside home, purchased with cartel funds.
The Justice Department has also indicted Cervantes in 2022, accusing him of leading a criminal enterprise responsible for manufacturing and distributing fentanyl into the U.S. A $10m reward is being offered by federal officials for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the elusive cartel leader.
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram stated in a news release: The Jalisco Cartel is responsible for unprecedented violence in Mexico and helping to fuel the deadly drug crisis in the United States. The DEA is relentlessly committed to defeating the Jalisco Cartel, and we will exhaust every tool in the justice system to fight back, to save American lives, and to bring this cartel to justice.
The case of Gutierrez-Ochoa underscores the audacious lengths to which cartel members will go to evade justice. His arrest, however, serves as a stark reminder that the long arm of the law is relentless in its pursuit of those who threaten the safety and security of the American people.
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