Defendants challenge delay in alleged CJNG arms case
Original reporting: ZETA Tijuana
What happened
Obed Christian Sepúlveda Portillo and César Ignacio Pérez Barrios filed an amparo challenging a trial scheduled for September 2027. A Jalisco district court granted provisional relief while the constitutional case proceeds.
Reporting and context
Two defendants have challenged a Jalisco court's decision to schedule their oral trial for September 2027, arguing that the delay prolongs their detention and violates their right to timely justice, according to ZETA Tijuana.
Former Guadalajara municipal police officer Obed Christian Sepúlveda Portillo and César Ignacio Pérez Barrios filed an indirect amparo, a constitutional challenge, before the Third District Court for Criminal Matters in Jalisco at the Puente Grande prison complex. Their challenge targets an October 14, 2026 scheduling decision by trial judge Gustavo Ortega Padilla.
ZETA Tijuana reported that the trial was set for September 20–24 and September 27–29, 2027. The defendants argue that scheduling it roughly a year ahead substantially exceeds the period provided by Article 349 of Mexico's National Code of Criminal Procedure. They also contend that the court passed its administrative capacity problems onto them without individually reassessing whether continued detention was necessary during the additional delay.
The district court admitted the challenge and granted a provisional suspension with restorative effects. As described by ZETA, the order directs the trial judge to make arrangements for a trial date as close as possible to September 20, 2027, taking account of court availability and criminal procedure requirements. The constitutional case will continue to determine whether the scheduling decision is valid.
Sepúlveda left Guadalajara's municipal police in March 2017. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned him on July 11, 2022, alleging that he coordinated purchases of high-caliber weapons and bulk ammunition for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel through a network moving them into Mexico.
Pérez Barrios was sentenced in Arizona on June 28, 2023, to 46 months in prison after pleading guilty to smuggling goods. ZETA described an April 28, 2019 attempt to move AR-type rifle components into Mexico concealed in a vehicle driven by an accomplice. Those components included receivers, barrels, buffer tubes, trigger assemblies and grips.
Original publication: https://zetatijuana.com/2026/11/presuntos-traficantes-de-armas-del-cjng-combaten-dilacion-procesal