A Mexican cartel leader arrested in the US faked his death and assumed a phony name, prosecutors say

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.

“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.

An email seeking comment was sent to an attorney appointed to represent Gutierrez Ochoa.

The U.S. State Department has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of “El Mencho,” an alias that is a play on his first name.

“El Mencho’s” son was convicted in a U.S. federal court in September of charges that he used violence, including the deadly downing of a military helicopter, to help his father operate one of the country’s largest and most dangerous narcotics trafficking organizations.

Rubén Oseguera, known as “El Menchito,” was convicted after a trial in Washington’s federal court of conspiring to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine for U.S. importation and using a firearm in a drug conspiracy.