A high-ranking member of the Mexican cartel, the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), was arrested in California last year on charges of international drug trafficking and money laundering. Reportedly, Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, an influential member of the organization and the son-in-law of its leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes had faked his own death and was living in Riverside, California, under a fake identity.
In November, Gutierrez-Ochoa was arrested by authorities after he was found living in a luxurious home in the Riverside community. The X account Trump Girl reported, “A high-ranking leader of a Mexican drug cartel who lived in the U.S. under a phony identity after faking his own death was arrested in Riverside. 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, prosecutors said.”
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement, “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.”
She continued, “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.”
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division noted, “Over the last decade, Cristian Gutierrez-Ochoa, a close associate of CJNG’s top leader, allegedly directed the importation of tons of methamphetamine and cocaine into the United States and engaged in violence to aid the cartel’s criminal activities.”
She maintained the division would work to dismantle these criminal organizations. “The Criminal Division is committed to disrupting and dismantling Mexican drug trafficking organizations. Tuesday’s arrest sends a powerful message to cartel leadership: we will work tirelessly with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to hold them accountable,” she said.
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said, “Defeating the two cartels responsible for the deadly drug crisis in the United States is the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s top operational priority, and with the arrest of Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, we are much closer.”
Milgram continued, “We allege that Gutierrez-Ochoa, a high-ranking member of the CJNG and the son-in-law of El Mencho, conspired to import thousands of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States on behalf of the Jalisco Cartel. The Jalisco Cartel is responsible for unprecedented violence in Mexico and helping to fuel the deadly drug crisis in the United States. The DEA is relentlessly committed to defeating the Jalisco Cartel, and we will exhaust every tool in the justice system to fight back, to save American lives, and to bring this cartel to justice.”