Former Operator of 'El Chapo' Based in Chihuahua Accepts US Extradition Request

“MX” for Borderland Beat

Fernando Arellano Romero, identified as a close operator of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, has accepted his extradition to the United States. The announcement was made during a session of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) a few days ago.

Fernando, and his brother Luis, are part of a list of 22 co-defendants in investigations carried out by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Fernando was arrested in July 2012 in Santa Catalina, a neighborhood in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. He is one of the most-wanted fugitives sought by the DEA in El Paso, Texas.

Unlike previous administrations, the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has opted to extradite more high-ranking drug cartel leaders to the US. As reported by Borderland Beat, over 44 people have been extradited to the US since 2018. Most of them were from the Sinaloa Cartel.

Background and indictments

Fernando Arellano Romero, born in Mexico in 1964, was a officer of the Chihuahua State Police. He was recruited by the Sinaloa Cartel in Chihuahua in the late 2000s to help them in their war against the old Juarez Cartel.

In his first US indictment, Fernando was charged for his alleged participation in the kidnapping of Sergio Saucedo, a man who lived in Horizon City, Texas. Saucedo was a known drug-dealer for the Sinaloa Cartel who had allegedly lost a 670-pound load of marijuana that was seized at the Sierra Blanca US Border Patrol (USBP) checkpoint on August 5, 2009.

School children being dropped off at a bus stop in Horizon City witnessed Saucedo’s kidnapping in broad daylight on September 3, 2009. His wife told deputies the men broke into the house, bound Saucedo with duct tape and carried him out the back door to the driveway, where he was stuffed into a dark sport utility vehicle with no license plates.

Days after his kidnapping, Saucedo was found tortured and killed in Ciudad Juárez with his severed hands left on his chest as a sign that he was considered a thief. The killers stuffed plastic bags into Saucedo’s mouth and taped his eyes. A written message was left at the scene.

The second indictment alleges that on May 7, 2010, Fernando and other members of the Sinaloa Cartel conspired to kidnap and murder an American citizen and two members of his family. Specifically, US investigators said that Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo (alias ‘El Jaguar’), caused an individual in El Paso to travel to a wedding ceremony in Juarez to confirm the identity of a target. The target was the groom, a U.S. citizen and a resident of Columbus, New Mexico.

Under Torres Marrufo’s orders, the groom, his brother and his uncle were all kidnapped during the wedding ceremony and subsequently tortured and murdered. Their bodies were discovered by Juarez police a few days later in the bed of an abandoned pickup truck. Additionally, a fourth person was killed during the kidnapping at the wedding ceremony.

This investigation resulted in the seizure of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, and thousands of pounds of marijuana in cities throughout the U.S.  Law enforcement also took possession of millions of dollars in drug proceeds which were destined to be returned to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.

Agents and officers likewise seized hundreds of weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition intended to be smuggled into Mexico to assist the Sinaloa Cartel’s war in Ciudad Juarez.

Direct sources: Excelsior; Infobae; La Jornada; Background sources: DEA Fugitives; KTSM; Fox News; USDOJ

Fernando Arellano-Romero – US Charges by MX on Scribd