Son-in-law of powerful Mexican cartel boss arrested in Calif. after allegedly faking own death to ‘live life of luxury’ in US: feds

The son-in-law of one of Mexico’s most powerful cartel bosses has been arrested in California — after federal prosecutors say he faked his own death so he could disappear to “live a life of luxury” in the Golden State.

Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, 37, was bagged Tuesday in Riverside, where he’d been living in a luxurious home paid for by the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación [CJNG], the Department of Justice said in a statement Thursday.

Gutierrez-Ochoa is married to the daughter of CJNG boss Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, a ruthless leader known in Mexico as “El Mencho.”

Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa, 37, was arrested in California on Tuesday. CBS NEws

“The Jalisco Cartel is responsible for unprecedented violence in Mexico and helping to fuel the deadly drug crisis in the United States,” the DOJ said.

Gutierrez-Ochoa had allegedly been working for the CJNG for a decade and “personally coordinated the transportation and distribution of approximately 40,000 kilograms of methamphetamine and approximately 2,000 kilograms of cocaine in Mexico, all destined for the United States,” according to the agency.

And Gutierrez-Ochoa also wasn’t afraid to resort to violence to get the job done, prosecutors allege.

He is accused of kidnapping at least two members of the Mexican navy in 2021 as part of a ploy to release El Mencho’s wife after she was arrested.

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the powerful Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación boss known as El Mencho. CBS NEws

He soon fled to the US, allegedly with assistance from El Mencho, who said he’d executed his son-in-law for deceiving him, the DOJ said.

Once in California, prosecutors allege Gutierrez-Ochoa rendezvoused with his wife, and after assuming a false identity, started a new life and “resided in a luxury residence in Riverside,” the feds added.

“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,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.

“As these charges allege, Gutierrez-Ochoa directed the trafficking of lethal narcotics, causing untold destruction in our communities,” she added.

El Mencho is one of the most wanted cartel bosses in Mexico. The US is offering a $10 million reward for his arrest CBS NEws

Gutierrez-Ochoa was hit with money laundering and drug trafficking charges and faces up to 20 years behind bars if convicted.

The US is seeking to bag El Mencho next — and is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture.

His brother, Antonio Oseguera — also known as El Tony Montana — was arrested in Mexico in 2022 by a raid of heavily armed Mexican soldiers.

The family cartel specializes in trafficking drugs like meth and fentanyl to the US and has been fingered as one of the driving forces behind the country’s heroin crisis.