CDS Los Rusos Member “El Plaga” May Have Escaped from Prison in July

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A judge indicated that Cristian Alexis Mendoza Guillén or Eduardo René Robles López known as “El Plaga,” a plaza boss linked to the Sinaloa Cartel has not been able to be located since July of this year, following his capture in November 2022.

On November 19, 2022, “El Plaga” was arrested after a confrontation against elements of the Mexicali Municipal Public Security Directorate (DSPM) and the State Citizen Security Force (FESC). This was in the Hipico neighborhood of the Baja California capital, where Benito Beltrán Zepeda “El Tío” was killed during the shootout.

However, a federal judge ordered his release 11 days later because the crime for which he was accused did not warrant preventive detention. The State Attorney General’s Office (FGE-BC) re-arrested him for attempted murder against public security agents based on the shootout leading to his initial capture.

Almost a year after his arrest, a hearing was held this Monday to challenge his preventive detention. At the hearing, “El Plaga” was a no-show, and the control judge revealed that he was transferred to the Federal Center for Social Readaptation (Cefereso) #3, in Oaxaca, on July 6.

But the state authorities were unaware this had taken place.

The same judge explained that elements of the Superior Court of Justice of Baja California requested the information in Oaxaca. However, they were sent to Chihuahua, who in turn sent them to Chiapas. The whereabouts of “El Plaga” are currently unknown to all of those entities.

FGE agents in charge of the case in Baja California said that “El Plaga” was transferred from El Hongo #2 to Oaxaca due to a federal charge against him. However, Cefereso #3 does not exist in Oaxaca, but in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

The defense team of the alleged drug trafficker said they had not had contact with him since his transfer in July 2023. Due to the mishap, the control judge did not set the next hearing date until the defense reestablishes contact with “El Plaga.”

In 2022, the former head of the State Secretariat of Citizen Security, Gilberto Landeros Briseño, assured that the arrest of “El Plaga” was on par with the arrest of “El Tolín” Infante. Another leader in the Sinaloa Cartel was arrested in July 2022 in Playas de Rosarito.

Both are linked to the “El Mayo” Zambada faction within the Sinaloa Cartel, which maintains a conflict against the “Los Chapitos” faction with much of that fighting taking place with the “Los Rusos” group.

Mendoza Guillén was linked to being a leader of criminal cells serving “Los Rusos” in Mexicali. In 2016, he had been arrested while carrying firearms in his car.

Source Zeta Tijuana