A high-ranking member of a Mexican drug cartel who allegedly faked his own death has been discovered living in California and now faces federal charges, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday.
Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa had assumed a fake identity to evade Mexican law enforcement and had been living in a luxury apartment in Riverside, California when he was arrested earlier this week, according to prosecutors. The 37-year-old Gutierrez-Ochoa, who is the son-in-law of the cartel’s leader El Mencho, had been charged with international drug trafficking and money laundering.
“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 Thursday.
Prosecutors said prior to his escape, Gutierrez-Ochoa was personally responsible for the distribution of 40,000 kilograms of methamphetamine and 2,000 kilograms of cocaine from Mexico to the United States. In 2021, he also allegedly kidnapped two members of the Mexican Navy as part of an attempt to release his mother-in-law, El Mencho’s wife, following her arrest by Mexican authorities. El Mencho then helped his son-in-law fake his death by telling his associates he had killed Gutierrez-Ochoa for lying.
El Mencho was charged in 2022 with leading a criminal enterprise to manufacture and distribute fentanyl in the United States. The U.S. Departement of State has offered a reward up to $10 million leading to his arrest and/or conviction. El Mencho remains at large.
“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,” added DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.