Mexican Cartel Leader
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – A high-ranking Mexican drug cartel official who allegedly faked his own death and was living under an assumed name in Riverside was arrested this week on federal narcotics charges, prosecutors announced last Thursday.
Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, 37, is alleged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to be a high-ranking member of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, as well as the son-in-law of the cartel’s leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” according to the Department of Justice.
A criminal complaint against Gutierrez-Ochoa was unsealed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday. He was arrested in Riverside on Tuesday.
The complaint charges him with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, knowing that the drugs would be imported into the United States. He is also charged with conspiracy to launder drug trafficking proceeds.
The charges carry a possible sentence of life imprisonment.
“The Jalisco Cartel — one of the world’s most violent and prolific drug trafficking organizations — is weaker today because of the tenacious efforts of law enforcement to track down and arrest a cartel leader who allegedly faked his own death and assumed a false identity to evade justice and live a life of luxury in California,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. “As these charges allege, Gutierrez-Ochoa directed the trafficking of lethal narcotics, causing untold destruction in our communities. To those seeking to harm Americans and to profit from their pain, this arrest should serve as a reminder — we will find you and bring you to justice.”
Prosecutors contend that Gutierrez-Ochoa began working with the cartel — described as one of the most violent in Mexico — in roughly 2014, and he is believed to have coordinated the transportation and distribution of 40,000 kilograms of meth and 2,000 kilograms of cocaine in Mexico, all of which was destined for the United States.
In November 2021, he allegedly kidnapped two members of the Mexican Navy to try to win the release of El Mencho’s wife, who had been arrested by authorities in Mexico. Gutierrez-Ochoa allegedly escaped Mexican authorities by assuming a fictitious name and moving to a “luxury residence” in Riverside that was purchased with drug proceeds.
According to prosecutors, El Mencho is believed to have falsely told associates that he murdered Gutierrez-Ochoa for lying, thus helping him fake his own death and sneak into the United States to be with his wife — El Mencho’s daughter.
El Mencho was indicted by the U.S. Justice Department in April 2022, and a $10 million reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
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