Judge Orders the Release of Mencho's Brother Rodo from Custody

"HEARST" & "Char" for Borderland Beat

A judge has ordered that Mencho’s brother Abraham Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Rodo”, be released from federal custody.

The reporter Manuel Espino Bucio writes that Rodo is currently still inside Altiplano prison which means Rodo may be re-arrested for another charge immediately upon his release if the FGR is able to scramble together another charge. 

Tribuna writes that Rodo “who is in the Altiplano prison, could leave in the next few hours.”

The Hearing that Got Him Released

Multiple newspapers, such as Milenio and Tribuna, are reporting that after a 17-hour long hearing, a judge ordered that El Rodo be released because he believed prosecutors presented insufficient evidence to support the two charges against him. 

Those two charges are (1) carrying an illegal firearm, and (2) drug possession charges.

Photo of Mencho's brother published by Unknown.Operators on Instagram

FGR prosecutors argued before the judge that at the break of dawn, on April 21, 2024, Rodo and two others were seen carrying firearms in Autlán, Jalisco. 

Rodo then, reportedly, retreated inside a home in the Hacienda Real subdivision, with National Guard soldiers pursuing after him. 

The soldiers eventually caught up to Rodo and they detained him along with the two other men. The soldiers say that cocaine, fentanyl, and firearms were seized from their possession. 

Rodo’s defense lawyers, however, brought forward nine witnesses who contested this version of events at the hearing. Neighbors and municipal police officers stated that the National Guard soldiers claimed “to have been chased away from the place by the National Guard soldiers.”

Tribuna writes that “entire families testified in favor of Abraham [Rodo], stating that he was a victim of abuse, beatings and theft by federal agents during the [arrest] operation.”

These families are likely (in personal opinion of the writer) either being threatened or bribed by members of the CJNG for said testimony. The judge may also be threatened or bribed by CJNG members.

The publication Notigram writes that Rodo’s defense team also presented “the doctor who treated Rodo, who stated that due to his advanced age and a number of chronic degenerative diseases, Rodo is unable to use firearms,” so “the judge ruled that it was implausible [...] was detained in possession of an illegal firearm and he ordered Rodo’s immediate release.”

Note that Rodo is reportedly 70 years old, according to El Financiero. 

There are plenty of examples of people over 70 years old with chronic illnesses, who not only carried firearms but shot people (such as: this, this, this).

The real question is: how far up the chain of command was the CJNG able to bribe? Will the FGR come up with new charges and immediately rearrest Rodo? Or will they turn their backs as he walks free? 

We are currently waiting for news of what happened during Rodo’s release, which is expected to occur within the next few hours.

There is also a lingering question about why the US has not indicted Rodo for his alleged involvement in CJNG’s fentanyl smuggling. It's unclear if the US requesting Rodo’s extradition would have prevented his immediate release under the terms of the existing extradition agreement between the two countries. 

Milenio journalist Mario Rodríguez reports Rodo’s hearing was initially delayed two hours and it ran throughout the whole night. By the time it ended, 17 hours had elapsed and the judge gave his ruling at dawn.

2:30pm CST

Still no updates on the status of Rodo. All the news outlets are currently repeating that the judge ordered his release and giving no further details on if Rodo has actually left the prison grounds. It’s beginning to feel like confirmation that he was arrested or exited the prison may never come. 

In the meantime, we can take a closer look at the location where Rodo was arrested. On the government’s official detention record, they list out the following address: 

HACIENDA DE IGUALA STREET, NUMBER 22, 

HACIENDA REAL IN RODRIGUEZ ALCAINE,  

AUTLAN DE NAVARRO, JALISCO

The municipality of Autlan sits in the southwestern part of Jalisco. It is in close proximity to the town Villa Purificacion, the location of the infamous 2015 raid which attempted to capture Mencho. 

6:30pm CST 

The news publications Reforma and Zeta Tijuana are both reporting that the judge who presided over the hearing and ruled that Rodo be released is named Rogelio León Díaz Villarreal.

It’s been far longer than the “couple of hours” that we were told would be needed for Rodo to be released and no news outlets have claimed that Rodo was rearrested, so we’re left to assume that Rodo has walked out of Altiplano as a free man.

8:45 CST

Note that there are very few recent images of CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho”, who is currently 57 years old. 

Because Rodo is Mencho’s full-blooded brother, photos of 70-year old Rodo may, in some way, give us an insight into how Mencho’s facial features will age and maybe even give us a clue as to what Mencho may look like currently.

Sources: Milenio, Diario de Colima, Tribuna, Manuel Espino Bucio, Unknown.Operators, Notigram, Radio Formula, Reforma, Zeta Tijuana