Fugitive on FBI’s top ten most wanted list captured in Mexico: reports

"Jose Rodriguez Villarreal-Hernandez, a Mexican drug cartel leader and former runaway, was listed as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives on October 13, 2020. He was born on January 16, 1978. He was sought after in connection with the planning and execution of Juan Jess Guerrero Chapa's murder on May 22, 2013, in Southlake, Texas. He's also thought to be behind a lot of murders in Mexico. As the 524th fugitive, Villarreal-Hernandez was listed as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.

The Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program of the US Department of State offered a reward of up to $1 million for information that directly resulted in his capture. On January 7, 2023, he was apprehended. On January 16, 1978, Villarreal-Hernandez was born in Mexico. He served as the cartel's leader in Beltrán-Leyva. A few years before the 2013 murder of Juan Jess Guerrero Chapa, Villarreal-Father Hernandez was murdered by the Gulf Cartel, a rival cartel to the Beltrán-Leyva, with whom they had an ongoing feud. Guerrero, a lawyer, reportedly had ties to the Gulf Cartel and acted as Osiel Cárdenas Guillén's legal counsel.

Villarreal-Hernandez sought retribution after holding Guerrero personally accountable for his father's passing. A team was hired by Villarreal-Hernandez to kill Guerrero. By May 2013, Guerrero was residing in Southlake, Texas, and was working as a U.S. informant for the police. As a result, he was given permission to live legally in the country. To find Guerrero, Villarreal-Hernandez dispatched a crew from Mexico. After some searching, it was discovered that he was residing in Southlake.

Guerrero and his wife were followed by two hitmen working for Villarreal-Hernandez, named Clorox and Captain, as they drove to Southlake Town Square on the evening of May 22, 2013. Guerrero's wife was loading bags into the back of his burgundy Range Rover when he climbed into the front seat at 6:47 p.m. Driving a white Toyota Sequoia, the two killers approached them from behind. Wearing a bandanna and a hoodie, the passenger got out of the car and started shooting at Guerrero with a 9mm handgun. Guerrero collapsed against the front seats after receiving gunshot wounds to his side and back. The assassins fled after the shooter went back to the car.

Guerrero was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead. His wife was not injured during the shooting. Since then, three men who were linked to the assassination plot have been detained for their participation in the crime. The two killers are still at large. According to eyewitness accounts, Guerrero's sister beheaded Hernandez's Villarreal family member in retaliation for her actions. The severed head was then shown to him in a video.

The FBI continued to seek Villarreal-Hernandez for interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. It was thought that he was hiding in Mexico. There was a reward of up to $1 million offered for information that resulted in his capture. On January 7, 2023, Villarreal-Hernandez was taken into custody in Mexico City. Highlights After four months of being on the run, Villarreal-Hernandez's capture was made possible by the substantial reward offered for any information leading to his arrest

According to reports, a man wanted by the FBI for his alleged involvement in a murder plot was apprehended in Mexico on Saturday. According to Mexican prosecutors, Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez was detained in Mexico City on Saturday. Villarreal-Hernandez, also known as "El Gato," is sought by US federal authorities for his alleged involvement in the murder-for-hire scheme of a 43-year-old Texas man in May 2013.

Villarreal-Hernandez was apprehended in an operation that involved the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and other law enforcement agencies in Mexico, according to Univision Dallas-Fort Worth. According to the FBI, he allegedly served as a top official in Mexico's Beltran Leyva drug trafficking organization. For information that resulted in the capture of one of the bureau's top ten most wanted fugitives, the federal agency was offering a $1 million reward.

According to NBC 5 DFW, Villarreal-Hernandez was charged with federal crimes in Fort Worth after it was believed that he had approved the murder of attorney Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa, who was shot dead while out with his wife. Guerrero allegedly came under fire from two Mexican assassins who drove up. His wife sustained no harm. In 2018, a judge authorised a federal arrest warrant for Villarreal-Hernandez on related charges of interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, according to the FBI.