While incarcerated in the Texas Department of Corrections, he served as the right hand man to BA Captain Manuel Cardoza. 2019. Official websites use .govA .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. [75][76] On May 21, 2020, high ranking Barrio Azteca leader Jose Dolores Villegas Soto, who is known by his moniker "El Iraqui," and aliases "El Iraki" and "El Lolo," was arrested with 10 other suspected Barrio Azteca members. [74], In January 2020, Juarez police arrested the leader of the group's "Old Guard" fraction, Jesus Alfredo Martinez Mendoza, alias "El Freddy or El Ferro. In Ciudad Jurez, however, the gang is known as Los Aztecas. The DPS projects Bandidos members will attempt to change their public perception by adding new members with clean criminal backgrounds and organizing charity events. We then verify, write and edit, providing the tools to generate real impact. Police: Arrested gang leader's double-cross fuels Jurez violence 10 facts about the Barrio Azteca, one of the most dangerous gangs in Texas, Mark Lambie/AP Photo/El Paso Times, Mark Lambie. [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. [24] Following their exit, the two men open a different door and allowed four other accomplices into the hallway, some of them who were carrying assault rifles. Witnesses testified that Renteria was a BA Captain, the highest rank of the Barrio Azteca, and the only U.S.-based Captain not currently serving a life sentence in prison. This investigation highlights an unfortunate reality: leaders within growing trans-national prison and street gangs like the Barrio Azteca continue to promote violence and manage their drug trafficking activities even after the cell door closes, said DEA Administrator Leonhart. [46] Later on that same day, gunmen killed the husband of another consulate worker and wounded his two young children. He previously covered real estate, economic development, retail and tourism. 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. In 2010, Barrio Azteca members allegedly murdered 15 teenagers at a party, and later that same year, killed a US Consulate employee, her husband and the husband of another employee in Ciudad Jurez. WASHINGTON - A Barrio Azteca (BA) gang leader was sentenced to life in prison without parole for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman for the Western District of Texas, FBI Assistant Director of the Criminal [72] In November 2019, three members of La Empresa were arrested. Ricardo Gonzales, 44, aka Cuate, of Anthony, N.M., was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and Adam Garcia, 35, aka Bad Boy, of El Paso, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. [59] The Mexican police declined to comment if the killing was drug-related, but Felipe Caldern's response was remarkably different from the Villas de Salvrcar massacre, where he claimed that the massacre was most likely due to internal adjustments between the cartels. 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. [12] When the Sinaloa Cartel made its first incursion into Ciudad Jurez in 2008, Barrio Azteca was called to defend the plaza. The Barrio Azteca gang emerged in Texas prisons, later served as armed support to the Jurez Cartel, and has since evolved to control local drug trafficking in Jurez. [39] In 2012 it was later confirmed by the Mexican authorities that the massacre was ordered by Jos Antonio Acosta Hernndez (El Diego), a former drug baron of La Lnea that is now imprisoned. 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. Barrio Azteca ~ Borderland Beat Ten of these members were specifically indicted in connection with the 2010 Consulate case. 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. [30] Videos from the crime scene depict a sparsely furnished home with large puddles of blood and taints smeared on the walls; in addition, more than 100 AK-47 bullet casings were found at the crime scene. They began to recruit new inmates coming into the prison for violent gang crimes. [49] Gallegos targeted the American officials because he believed they had given visas to members of a rival gang, although some say it was a case of mistaken identity. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article. Felipe Caldern, Mexico's president, also visited the family members and handed a memorial plaque to the parents of the victims. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( A murder in Texas drives a huge investigation which often leads to an arrest. [56] After firing more than 70 bullets, the attackers fled the scene in three different cars at around 11:00p.m.[57][58] According to the witnesses' descriptions, the attackers were teenagers who had secured the area by blocking traffic. [52] Reportedly, the gang leaders wanted the guard dead for mistreating members of the gang in jail. Beginning in the 2000s, Barrio Azteca started to assist Mexico's Jurez Cartel with operations, and the gang became an important element in the battle between the Jurez Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel for control of the city of Jurez. Despite US efforts, the gang has apparently regained strength, and maintains significant power in Jurez, particularly as the power of the Jurez Cartel has declined. DPS also cited the 2014 indictment of 55 Barrio Azteca members and associates as handicapping the gang's effectiveness. [20] They were sentenced yesterday in the Western District of Texas. Under the tutelage of Ravelo, the gang moves narcotics along the border with the aid of Vicente Carrillo Fuentes' cartel. Is the Stanley Quencher tumbler worth its TikTok hype? When they are absolved from their sentences, they are sent back across the border into Mexico, where they quickly join the gang's ranks and carry out a number of crimes. The federal agency is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to his capture. Barrio Azteca | Detailed Pedia Restoranas "El Barrio" | Vilnius - Facebook [35] But Caldern was widely criticized for his initial comments after the massacre, where he claimed that the investigations had showed that those killed were almost certainly targeted for being involved in organized crime. Some are shot dead, while others are tortured and then shot. FBI Gang Threat on the Border [73] On March 5, 2020, 9 suspected La Empresa members were arrested. [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. [62], In June 2020, it was reported that La Lnea was the Jurez Cartel's most powerful fraction in Ciudad Jurez. The gang expanded after 1996, due in part to increasing deportations of imprisoned Mexican criminals by the United States. Eduardo "Richolm" Ravelo (born October 13, 1968) is a Mexican American gangster who was a leader of the Barrio Azteca gang. However, DPS downgraded the threat posed by the Barrio Azteca gang in 2015 after considering it among the state's most violent Texas-based gangs since 2010. 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. [17] The informant said that Ravelo was taken to a house in El Paso where a gang member was being held, his mouth, wrists, and ankles bound with duct tape. [18] When drug loads go missing while being smuggled, suspects are kidnapped and taken to Ciudad Jurez. Its members, or soldiers, are governed by captains, various lieutenants and numerous sergeants in the United States and Mexico. Todays sentencing by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone of the Western District Court of Texas marks the closure of the case against the U.S.-based defendants charged in the superseding indictment. The Barrio Azteca gang, also known as "Los Aztecas," was formed in theEl Paso, Texasprison system in 1986. Hector Galindo, 38, aka Silent, of El Paso, currently serving a 25-year Texas state sentence for murder, was sentenced to life prison. This is a carousel. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of New Mexico provided significant assistance in this case, including by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Davenport. Tri-City Bombers, Latin Kings and Surenos are more active on a street gang level. The group also helped the Jurez Cartel to move people and drugs as well as to acquire weapons and vehicles. "[67], Gang members in the organizations refer to each other as "carnal," a slang term for brother. [29] As neighbors hid in their houses, some dialed the emergency services but the Mexican military and the Federal police did not arrive until after the killers had left. FBI 10 Most Wanted fugitive, Texas Barrio Azteca gang leader arrested The Bloods, Crips, Surenos and Latin Kings are the most active street gangs, while Tango Blast cliques in San Antonio (Orejones) and Austin (La Capirucha) rule the prisons, along with the Texas Mexican Mafia and Aryan Brotherhood. 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. [64] To prevent officers from understanding their communication network, Barrio Azteca also created a secret language based on Nahuatl. He allegedly pays his sicarios (hitmen) less than 500 pesos (or about $40 U.S. dollars) a week to carry out assassinations. Infighting Hurt the Barrio Aztecas Who Worked for Juarez Cartl Of the 35 defendants charged, 33 have been apprehended, including April Cardoza, who was found in Juarez, Mexico, last week. The group has control over other local gangs, has members across the border, and already moves drug shipments across the border. [31] The relatives and witnesses interviewed after the massacre insisted that the teenagers had nothing to do with the drug trade and were "good kids. Evidence was presented that Gonzales and Garcia were BA soldiers, whose duties included distributing drugs, picking up money from dealers and enforcement operations within their area of responsibility. New foe in U.S. drug war: Mexican assassins - NBC News Twenty-four of those defendants have pleaded guilty, one defendant committed suicide while imprisoned during his trial and six others are pending extradition from Mexico. WASHINGTON, D.C. - A leader and two soldiers in the Barrio (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 DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart, and other federal officials.
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