Inset: Nemesio Ruben Oseguera-Cervantes (U.S. Department of State). Background: The letters “CJNG” for Jalisco New Generation Cartel are scrawled on the facade of an abandoned home, in El Limoncito, in the Michoacan state of Mexico, Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
A high-ranking member of one of the world’s most violent drug cartels who allegedly faked his own death and created a phony identity to live a life of luxury was arrested on federal charges of drug trafficking and money laundering.
Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, 37, was charged in a federal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. He was arrested in Riverside, California, on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a press release.
“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,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “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.”
Gutierrez-Ochoa is a high-ranking member of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and the son-in-law of its leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, 58, also known as “El Mencho,” prosecutors said.
Gutierrez-Ochoa is accused of directing the shipment of tons of methamphetamine and cocaine on behalf of the Cartel, which authorities say is responsible for unprecedented violence in Mexico and is helping fuel the deadly drug crisis in the U.S.
In November 2021, Gutierrez-Ochoa allegedly kidnapped two members of the Mexican Navy in an attempt to secure the release of Oseguera Cervantes’ wife, who had been arrested by Mexican authorities, court documents said.
He then fled to the U.S., assumed a fake name, and used drug money to buy a luxury home in Riverside, California, according to court documents. Riverside is about 55 miles east of Los Angeles.
According to court documents, El Mencho may have assisted Gutierrez-Ochoa in his scheme to fake his own death by telling associates that “El Mencho” murdered Gutierrez-Ochoa for lying. “El Mencho” is named in an April 2022 indictment, charging him with leading a continuing criminal enterprise to manufacture and distribute fentanyl for importation into the U.S.
A reward of up to $10 million is being offered for information leading to his arrest.
Oseguera Cervantes rose to power in 2009, authorities said. Over time, the CJNG expanded its control in Mexico, growing from a regional drug trafficking organization into an international organized crime power, prosecutors said.
Oseguera Cervantes’ son, Rubén “El Menchito” Oseguera, the second in command of the CJNG, was convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy in September after a two-week jury trial in a federal court in Washington, D.C.
Authorities said he used firearms, destructive devices, murder, and kidnapping to control the drug trafficking organization. His subordinates used an Iranian-made rocket-propelled grenade and a .50 caliber belt-fed firearm weapons painted with “CJNG” to shoot down a Mexican military helicopter with 18 soldiers and police on board. At least nine people on board died.
He faces life plus 30 years when he is set to be sentenced on Jan. 10.
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