Attorney René Octavio Cardona González is a Welfare Judge. He was elected in the judicial process of June 1, 2025, and only achieved what he had previously been unable to accomplish in his life: becoming a District Judge Specialized in the Accusatory Criminal Justice System. He was assigned to the Federal Criminal Justice Center in the State of Baja California, based in Tijuana, serving as a Control Judge.
When he gave an interview to the weekly newspaper ZETA, which he requested himself because he was campaigning to become a judge, he spoke in advance about alternative measures, explaining that these should constitute an agreement between the parties to resolve the conflict, and that proceedings should be expedited once the defendant “accepts his participation in the acts,” so that a sentence can be issued as quickly as possible. His idea was to “relieve pressure on the system.”
On Sunday, August 23, 2026, in the late afternoon and very close to nightfall, Control Judge René Octavio Cardona González effectively relieved pressure on the system by releasing two alleged drug traffickers: Arturo Zedillo Pulido, known as “El Pelucas,” associated with the Sinaloa Cartel and arrested by officers of the Baja California State Public Security Force on April 29 of this same year; and Sergio Serrano Ramos, known as “El Checo,” linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, who was also arrested by FESC officers on May 13, 2026.
That August 23, Judge René Cardona González demonstrated that the administration of justice does not stop; it does not rest, not even on weekends or on the sacred Sunday. Promptly, the Welfare Judge worked on the case involving the two alleged drug traffickers to change their precautionary measure from pretrial detention to conditional release. And just like that, with a stroke of the pen, he freed them from the bars of the State Penitentiary in Tijuana at around eight at night.
Both, recognized as criminals by the Baja California Security Council, calmly walked out of the penitentiary in the darkness of night. They had not even been free for three minutes when, as El Pelucas approached the car that was already waiting to take him to an unknown destination, another man stealthily approached, a killer got out, and shot him dead in front of the penitentiary facilities from which Judge Cardona had set him free.
El Checo did not react to the cold-blooded killing. Although the two had left prison together thanks to Judge René Cardona, El Pelucas’s killers did not even notice him. That is why he left the scene, disappearing into the darkness toward an unknown destination, although from that day onward, violence and insecurity intensified in Tecate, where Sergio Serrano Ramos resides.
When FESC officers arrested Arturo Zedillo Pulido, El Pelucas, on April 29, they caught him in flagrante delicto, although he was already a wanted target identified as being associated with the Sinaloa Cartel in the Natura area of Tijuana. They apprehended him there while he was driving a Volkswagen Golf GTI with license plate C56NTT9, and confiscated: a black rifle-type firearm with AK-47 characteristics; a black .223-caliber rifle-type firearm; a black revolver-type firearm with a brown grip, .22 caliber; a .40-caliber handgun loaded with a metal magazine containing seven live rounds; and 30 transparent plastic bags, each containing 30 sealed blue packages with a granular substance resembling methamphetamine. This was sufficient to place him at the disposal of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) for his probable responsibility in crimes against public health and violations of the Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives.
From April 29 until August 23, 2026, when he had the “luck” of having his case assigned to Judge René Cardona, El Pelucas remained in prison.
Sergio Serrano Ramos, El Checo, was also arrested by FESC officers. It happened in Tecate on May 13, at Rancho Viejo, after an aerial and ground pursuit during which, over at least 30 kilometers, he attempted to evade arrest, firing at the officers pursuing him and even using “tire spikes” to prevent approaching units from advancing.
During the pursuit, El Checo lost control of his Jeep Rubicon and crashed into a tree, a situation the officers took advantage of to arrest him. They confiscated the Jeep he was driving, with California license plate 9KHN808; a 9 mm firearm; two 7.62×39-caliber firearms; three ballistic vests; seven firearm magazines of various calibers; and 30 packages containing methamphetamine.
El Checo was also placed at the disposal of the Attorney General’s Office, where he was prosecuted and began serving his detention at the Tijuana Penitentiary… until Judge Cardona released him on August 23, 2026, despite the fact that he had previously been arrested for trafficking crystal methamphetamine and is accused of violent acts in the Pueblo Mágico, where he is linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
After learning of Judge Cardona’s intention to change the precautionary measure and release the two alleged cartel-linked criminals, the Attorney General’s Office attempted to persuade him, in El Checo’s case, citing his lack of ties to the city of Tecate, the four offenses for which he had been formally charged, the pursuit during which he was arrested, in which he fired at officers to evade capture, and the risk the man posed to society. In the end, as in El Pelucas’s case, Judge René Octavio Cardona González ruled according to his “criteria” and released both detainees. One was killed as soon as he left the penitentiary, while the other, Serrano, is being trusted by the Welfare Judge to appear and sign in on the 5th and 20th of each month…
Now that’s something: with these Welfare Judges, drug traffickers do not even need lawyers.
Source: zetatijuana
