Fugitive arrested in El Paso sentenced by Mexican court to 50 years in prison
A Mexican court sentenced Michelle Angelica Pineda to 50 years in prison after her arrest in El Paso and transfer to authorities in Chihuahua, according to federal officials.
Federal authorities say Michelle Angelica Pineda was convicted in the Mexican state of Chihuahua after her 2024 arrest in El Paso.
Organ Mountain News report
EL PASO, Texas - A court in the Mexican state of Chihuahua has sentenced international fugitive Michelle Angelica Pineda, known as “La Chely,” to 50 years in prison after her arrest in El Paso and transfer to Mexican authorities, federal officials said.
In a news release issued Tuesday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said a Chihuahuan state judge imposed the sentence on Dec. 27 after convicting Pineda and five other defendants for their roles in the killing of 23-year-old Mexican national Jorge Rentería Rodríguez.
Federal authorities said agents from the FBI’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force and the U.S. Border Patrol arrested Pineda on Feb. 15, 2024, at a motel in El Paso. Mexican officials had sought her arrest for alleged involvement in at least five homicides, with investigators suspecting her involvement in additional killings in Ciudad Juárez.
Federal authorities said Pineda entered the United States illegally and ran a drug trafficking operation on behalf of a Juárez-based criminal gang they identified as “Artistas Assessino.”
Federal officials said Pineda was known for extreme acts of violence, including dismembering victims, removing their hearts, and placing the organs at altars dedicated to Santa Muerte.
During the arrest, authorities found firearms, machetes, fentanyl pills, powdered fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, Xanax, and methamphetamine inside the motel room where Pineda was located, the FBI said.
Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested Pineda and transferred her through a port of entry into the custody of Chihuahua state police and prosecutors, where the case proceeded in Mexican courts.
The FBI said the investigation involved multiple agencies, including the El Paso Police Department, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and other state and federal partners.
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