Over the weekend, Fuerza Regida’s lead singer Jesús Ortíz Paz was arrested in Mexico. After spending a few days in jail, the Mexican-American star was released yesterday (Feb. 6).
On Sunday night, Jesús Ortíz Paz, aka JOP, was reportedly arrested at the Garita Centro border entry point while trying to cross into Mexicali, Baja California. According to LatinUS, National Guard agents inspected Paz’s car and found marijuana inside cigarettes, plastic bags, and a jar. The website for the U.S. embassy and consulates in Mexico states that drug possession and use, including medical marijuana, is illegal in Mexico and could result in jail time. Paz was detained with three men, identified as Edgar Eduardo Díaz, Ángel Eduardo Gutiérrez Lara, and José Francisco López Trasviña.
JOP and the other three men were taken into custody by Mexicali’s Fiscalía General de la República (FGR). They were put in jail for “crimes against health” under Mexican law. Paz and the corridos tumbados singers and songwriters with him were seen as trying to bring marijuana into the country. They spent the next few days in a Mexicali jail.
According to El Siglo de Torreón, the investigation by the FGR found that Paz’s party was in possession of 10 grams of cannabis, which doesn’t warrant imprisonment. The guys were released from jail on Tuesday, and they will go to trial for the alleged possession of marijuana. The FGR of Mexicali will place sanctions on the four men, but it hasn’t specified yet how that will be carried out.
The news of Paz’s arrest comes right before the release of Fuerza Regida’s upcoming EP. Dolido Pero No Arrepentido will drop on Feb. 8. Last year, one of the band’s security staff was gunned down in Cumbres de Maltrata, Veracruz.