Isidro Avelar Gutiérrez: the Jalisco judge linked to the CJNG was released from prison on parole

Isidro Avelar Gutiérrez (Photo: [email protected])

The Judge of Jalisco, Isidro Avelar Gutiérrez —accused of receiving bribes and working directly for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)— will face his trial in freedom after two years of preventive detention.

This Wednesday, the Unitary Court Specialized in Criminal Matters of the Second Circuit, based in the State of Mexico, determined that Avelar could continue his criminal process —for illicit enrichment— at his home.

Avelar filed various appeals in which he ordered the review of the measures in his case; however, they suffered a delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The judge is accused by the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR) of receiving bribes of 12 million pesos in 2011, in exchange for illegal rulings favorable to a member of Los Zetas and three of the CJNG, one of them Rubén Oseguera González, the Menchito, son of the CJNG leader, who was released in 2016. Currently, the Menchito He is in a US prison awaiting trial.

Avelar’s alleged links with criminal organizations caused the Judicial Branch to clean up magistrates and judges accused of corruption. Before being processed, Gutiérrez Avelar was sent to another jurisdiction, a practice that is common when there are suspicions about the togados.

Until now, the magistrate has not been able to prove the origin of the more than 12 million pesos he received after the release of “El Menchito” and is still awaiting trial in the federal prison of El Rincón, in Tepic, Nayarit.

The case of the former magistrate is linked to the accusations against Roberto Sandoval, former governor of Nayarit, who is also pointed out by the US Department of the Treasury for having links with the CJNG, as he is accused of having received bribes from the Los Cunis organization, the financial arm of the cartel.

“Officials like Isidro Avelar Gutiérrez and Roberto Sandoval Castañeda cruelly enrich themselves at the expense of their fellow citizens. Whether they’re taking bribes from drug trafficking organizations or engaging in a variety of other illicit activities,” Sigal Mandelker, assistant secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence in the United States, told a news conference.

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