A high-ranking member of the notorious Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG), Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa – son-in-law to the cartel's leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho" – was arrested in Riverside, California, on charges of international drug trafficking and money laundering, according to the Office of Public Affairs. The U.S. officials unsealed a criminal complaint revealing that Gutierrez-Ochoa had been living under an assumed identity after faking his death.
"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," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, in a statement made by the Office of Public Affairs. Despite the gravity of his offenses, Gutierrez-Ochoa's elaborate ruse to live comfortably in the U.S. was cut short by vigilant federal agents.
The suspect supposedly coordinated the importation of a staggering 40,000 kilograms of methamphetamine and 2,000 kilograms of cocaine from Mexico into the United States, as per the Office of Public Affairs. Furthermore, in a move bound to ensure the loyalty of his peers, Gutierrez-Ochoa allegedly kidnapped two members of the Mexican Navy to negotiate the release of Oseguera-Cervantes's wife.
A conviction on these serious charges could land Gutierrez-Ochoa with a mandatory minimum of ten years to a maximum life sentence on the drug distribution conspiracy charge and a maximum of 20 years for the money laundering conspiracy charge, as detailed by the Office of Public Affairs. The case, investigated by the DEA's Los Angeles Field Division, will be heard in the federal court, where any sentence will be determined considering various statutory factors.
