A Mexican cartel leader arrested in the US faked his death and assumed a phony name, prosecutors say
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Updated 2:40 PM CST, November 21, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — A high-ranking leader of a Mexican drug cartel who lived in the U.S. under a phony identity after faking his own death has been arrested on federal charges, the Justice Department said Thursday.
Cristian Fernando Gutierrez Ochoa — the son-in-law of the fugitive Jalisco New Generation cartel boss known as “El Mencho” — was arrested this week on drug trafficking and money laundering offenses in Riverside, California, where he had been living using a fake name after fleeing Mexico, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors say Gutierrez Ochoa, 37, faked his own death and fled to the U.S. to avoid Mexican authorities after kidnapping two members of the Mexican Navy in 2021. His father-in-law, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes or “El Mencho,” told associates he killed Gutierrez Ochoa for lying, helping the man escape to the U.S. to be with “El Mencho’s” daughter, the Justice Department said.
Gutierrez Ochoa is accused of conspiring to import thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine into the U.S., and using violence to further the cartel’s illegal activities. He’s accused of kidnapping the two Mexican Navy members in 2021 in the hopes of securing the release of “El Mencho’s” wife after she had been arrested by Mexican authorities, according to the Justice Department.
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https://apnews.com/article/mexican-cartel-arrest-el-mencho-justice-department-6bd822c5d37c18aeebbcf067f26e5a60
Cristian Fernando Gutierrez Ochoa
California and busted
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