Again, I would say if he talked his Marine wife into helping him escape by not going to LE for a few extra hours of a head start and the outcome is he made it into Mexico avoiding the DP...he IS smarter than the FBI, the Marines, or LE...and because they believed her story. Another way he was smarter was because he might as well have raised a flag in his front yard saying, "I am a suspect in Maria's disappearance." and they would not have noticed UNTIL Christina came forward with the notes.
Cesar Laurean outwitted, outsmarted, and outplayed them all! He is a free man and unless they (FBI, Marines, & LE) truly get their act together in Mexico...he will remain free.