The son-in-law of one of Mexico's most powerful cartel bosses has been arrested in California. Federal prosecutors say the man faked his own death in order to disappear and “live a life of luxury” in the Golden State.
Fernando Gutierrez Ochoa, 37, was bagged in Riverside on Tuesday. There he lived in a luxurious house paid for by the Jalisco New Cartel. [CJNG], the Justice Department said in a statement Thursday..
Gutierrez-Ochoa is married to the daughter of CJNG boss Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the ruthless leader known in Mexico as “El Mencho.”
“The Jalisco Cartel is responsible for unprecedented violence in Mexico and fueling the deadly drug crisis in the United States,” the Justice Department said.
The agency said Gutierrez-Ochoa had worked for CJNG for 10 years and “personally coordinated the transportation and distribution of approximately 40,000 kilograms of methamphetamine and approximately 2,000 kilograms of cocaine in Mexico, all destined for the United States.” That's what it means.
And Gutierrez-Ochoa was not afraid to resort to violence to accomplish his mission, prosecutors allege.
He is accused of kidnapping at least two members of the Mexican Navy in 2021 as part of a plot to free El Mencho's wife after his arrest.
He soon fled to the United States, where he appears to have been assisted by El Mencho, who the Justice Department said had executed his son-in-law for deceiving him.
Prosecutors allege that after Gutierrez-Ochoa arrived in California, he met his wife and assumed a false identity before starting a new life and “living in a luxury home in Riverside,” federal authorities said. added.
“The Jalisco Cartel, one of the most violent and prolific drug-trafficking organizations in the world, is under a law to track down and arrest cartel leaders who are accused of faking their own deaths and assuming false identities to evade justice. It is weakened today because of the persistent efforts of enforcement agencies,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.
“As these charges allege, Gutierrez-Ochoa directed the trafficking of deadly drugs and caused untold destruction in our community,” she added.
Gutierrez-Ochoa has been charged with money laundering and drug trafficking and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The United States is next in line to bag El Mencho, offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
His younger brother, Antonio Oseguera (also known as El Tony Montana), was arrested in Mexico in 2022 in an attack by heavily armed Mexican soldiers.
The family cartel specializes in trafficking drugs such as meth and fentanyl into the United States, and has been cited as one of the driving forces behind the country's heroin crisis.
