A Baja California Sur tribunal convicted Gabriel “N,” known as “El Berrendo,” of aggravated kidnapping on May 28 for the abduction and murder of a man identified as Paulo “N” in Santa Rosalía in May 2018. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 3, when a judge will determine the prison term and financial restitution owed to the victim’s family.
The case dates back eight years. According to the state attorney general’s office (Fiscalía General del Estado, or FGE), Paulo “N” was violently pulled from a Ford Mustang near Colonia Cuauhtémoc in Santa Rosalía. He was beaten and left bound to a tree along the highway toward the small community of Santa Águeda, located roughly 15 kilometers southwest of town.
Body Found in Clandestine Grave Nearly Two Years Later
Authorities did not locate Paulo “N” for more than a year and a half after his disappearance. His remains were discovered in a clandestine grave in January 2020. The FGE credited its specialized Unit for Investigation of Disappearance Crimes with the forensic, scientific, and legal work that ultimately built the case against Gabriel “N.”
Santa Rosalía is a former copper mining town of roughly 14,000 people on the Sea of Cortez coast, about 220 kilometers north of Loreto. The town serves as a ferry port connecting Baja California Sur to Guaymas, Sonora, and is a regular stop for travelers driving the Transpeninsular Highway.
A Rare Conviction in a High-Impact Case
Aggravated kidnapping is classified as a high-impact crime in Mexico and carries some of the stiffest penalties in the country’s penal code. Convictions in such cases remain uncommon in Baja California Sur. National impunity rates for kidnapping have historically exceeded 90 percent across Mexico, making the guilty verdict a notable outcome for the state’s justice system.
The June 3 sentencing hearing will also address financial restitution for what Mexican law terms “indirect victims,” typically immediate family members of the deceased. Under federal guidelines for aggravated kidnapping, sentences can range from 40 to 140 years in prison.
The case was first reported by Colectivo Pericú.