Specifically, during todays hearing, one witness recalled an instance in which Gonzales tried to collect an extortion fee from a New Mexico drug dealer, and when the dealer refused to pay, Gonzalez pulled a gun, put it to dealers head, and threatened to kill him. "[67], Gang members in the organizations refer to each other as "carnal," a slang term for brother. [6] Control of the routes in Ciudad Jurez, known as the "Jurez plaza," is vital for drug trafficking organizations, since they are a major illicit conduit into the United States. While incarcerated in the Texas Department of Corrections, he served as the right hand man to BA Captain Manuel Cardoza. As Gallegos-Castrellon arrived in chains, another leader and two soldiers in the Barrio Azteca were sentenced to life, 30 and 20 years in prison. [68] They work day in and day out, often with a list of people to kill. Of the 35 defendants charged, 33 have been apprehended, including April Cardoza, who was found in Juarez, Mexico, last week. The purpose of the BA-La Linea alliance was to battle the Chapo Guzman Cartel and its allies for control of the drug trafficking routes through Juarez and Chihuahua. He previously covered real estate, economic development, retail and tourism. A reputed Barrio Azteca gang leader on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list has been arrested in Mexico, authorities said Tuesday evening. A total of 35 BA members and associates based in the United States and Mexico were charged in the third superseding indictment for allegedly committing various criminal acts, including racketeering, narcotics distribution and importation, retaliation against persons providing information to U.S. law enforcement, extortion, money laundering, obstruction of justice and murder, including the 2010 Juarez consulate murders. When quota is collected by the BA, members and leaders deposit the money into the commissary accounts of incarcerated BA leaders, often using fake names or female associates to send the money by wire transfer. [16] In the year 2005, an informant and former lieutenant of the gang testified that Ravelo was looking for a man who had stolen goods from the Jurez cartel. Under the tutelage of Ravelo, the gang moves narcotics along the border with the aid of Vicente Carrillo Fuentes' cartel. Some murders are carried out to intimidate and as retaliation attacks. Specifically, during todays hearing, one witness recalled an instance in which Gonzales tried to collect an extortion fee from a New Mexico drug dealer, and when the dealer refused to pay, Gonzalez pulled a gun, put it to dealers head, and threatened to kill him. [37] It has fed up $400 million to repair the city's social fabric. We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. [12] But in Ciudad Jurez, it is one of the more than ten corpses found dead on a daily basis. [11] Los Salazar, a powerful cell of the Sinaloa Cartel, had by this point also managed to build a significant presence in Ciudad Jurez and was seen as on par with La Lnea in the Ciudad Jurez drug trafficking market as well. Witnesses specifically implicated Galindo, then incarcerated in the Coffield Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, as the central leader within the organization who kept track of membership records, hit lists and gang treaties for the BA. Much of the rest of the Barrio Azteca leadership is based in US jails, where leaders use telephones, the postal service and secret messages filtered to visitors to communicate with members on the outside. Hector Galindo, 38, aka Silent, of El Paso, currently serving a 25-year Texas state sentence for murder, was sentenced to life prison. However, it counts among its rivals some cartel heavyweights such as the Sinaloa Cartel, headed by notorious drug lordJoaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn, and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. These prison sentences send a strong message that even the most powerful and ruthless gangs cannot evade justice. The killings angered the White House, who had quietly allowed the families of the U.S. consulate workers to live across the border in Texas even before they were killed. The Barrio Azteca gang members organize themselves using a paramilitary structure and apply English terms or their Spanish equivalent words for ranks such as captain, lieutenant, and sergeant. However, the successful prosecutions of Galindo, Gonzales and Garcia, and the conviction of other Barrio Azteca members reinforce another reality: that wherever these dangerous organizations operate, DEA and its partners will aggressively follow, investigate and prosecute.. [8], In 2008, Cartel de Azteca formed an alliance with La Lnea, the armed wing of the Jurez Cartel, to fight off the forces of the Sinaloa Cartel, who were attempting to take over the drug smuggling routes in the area. [65] In March 2010, the FBI and the police department in El Paso stated that Barrio Azteca was more powerful than Los Zetas in the Jurez plaza. Some are shot dead, while others are tortured and then shot. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Joseph A. Cooley of the Criminal Divisions Organized Crime and Gang Section, Trial Attorney Brian Skaret of the Criminal Divisions Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney George Leal of the Western District of Texas - El Paso Division. WASHINGTON A leader and two soldiers in the Barrio Azteca (BA), a transnational border gang allied with the Juarez Cartel, were sentenced in El Paso, Texas, to life, 30 and 20 years in prison, respectively, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman for the Western District of Texas, FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Morgan of the FBIs El Paso Office and Administrator Michele M. Leonhart of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The gang's control over Jurez puts it in a position to move into major transnational drug trafficking. [70] Several other members of the Barrio Azteca were arrested with Ravelo as well. [21], The Mexican authorities were able to militarize the area with more than 200 federal police officers, 50 soldiers, two helicopters, a plane, and an unknown number of state and municipal police forces. Witnesses also testified to the extensive communication web of the BA, including utilizing coded letters, contraband cell phones within state and federal prison facilities, and distribution of membership rosters and hit lists. The Barrio Azteca gang, also known as "Los Aztecas," was formed in the El Paso, Texas prison system in 1986. Most members are Mexican national or Mexican American males. [51] After the arrest of a suspect in connection with the killings, the gang member said that Barrio Azteca was pursuing a guard from the El Paso County Jail and not the U.S. officials, but this information has not been confirmed. Evidence was presented that since 2003 the BA has trafficked hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and heroin. Barrio Azteca members are suspected of carrying out the March 2010 assassination of a U.S. Consulate employee, her husband and the husband of another U.S. Consulate employee. Family launches GoFundMe to help man shot during Fiesta in S.A. 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Of the 35 defendants charged, 33 have been apprehended, including April Cardoza, who was found in Juarez, Mexico, last week. Alongside Los Mexicles were the Artistas Asesinos, a rival gang and an enforcer group of the Sinaloa cartel. Barrio Azteca has approximately 600 active members who engage in murder, assault, extortion, human and drug trafficking, and other crimes. Twenty-one of 22 U.S.-based defendants have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced, including another BA Lieutenant Roberto Angel Cardona, who was also sentenced to life by Judge Cardone on Feb. 17, 2012. Domestic Cannabis Suppression / Eradication Program, Red Ribbon Toolkit - Resources For Your Community, DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, Intelligence Research Specialist Job Announcements, Schedule A Hiring Authority: Intelligence Research Specialist, Privacy Impact Assessment and Management Information Systems, Victim Witness Assistance Program Resources. [43][44][45], Initial reports stated that unknown gunmen of a drug trafficking organization shot and killed a pregnant U.S. consulate woman and her husband at broad daylight in Ciudad Jurez on 13 March 2010, leaving a baby wailing in the back seat of the car. The gang expanded after 1996, due in part to increasing deportations of imprisoned Mexican criminals by the United States. [68] After fulfilling their mission, the gang members return to safe houses throughout the city or return across the international bridge to El Paso. [34], Four days after the massacre, a suspect identified as Jos Dolores Arroyo Chavarra was arrested by the Mexican military. The Barrio Azteca (Spanish pronunciation: [barjo asteka]), or Los Aztecas (pronounced [los astekas]), is a Mexican-American street, and prison gang originally based in El Paso, Texas.The gang was formed in the jails of El Paso in 1986 and expanded into a transnational criminal organization. Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? Drug distribution is believed to represent over half of the gang's revenue. Barrio Azteca also draws recruits from Jurez jails who are attracted by the strict order that the gang enforces on members. The. Barrio Azteca gang leader gets 116 years in murders of 2 state police agents in Jurez Daniel Borunda El Paso Times 0:00 2:15 A Jurez gang leader last week was sentenced to more than 116. The gang began to directly buy large sums of cocaine from the cartel at cheaper rates, and in return the gang would buy weapons in so called straw purchases from Texan gun shops and then smuggle them across the border. [41] Despite the arrests, many of the family members were unhappy with the efforts of the Mexican government and said that they were planning to abandon Mexico and seek safe haven in Texas to protect their children. Some, however, are beheaded. The Barrio Azteca was able to quickly grow in large numbers without much problems. About. [66] Members of Barrio Azteca tend to have both Mexican and U.S. citizenship, and authorities believe they carry out crimes in Ciudad Jurez and then return legally to the United States. Inside and outside of prison, the gang thrives on violence - from gang beatings to drive-by shootings to murder - all in order to discipline its own members or fight against rivals. According to court documents and information presented in court, Galindo was a top Lieutenant in the BA. [34] The mayor of Ciudad Jurez said that the massacre was a random act of violence by Mexico's drug gangs because the victims had no apparent ties with organize crime.
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