The following is a round up of the Juarez Consulate murder trial. In March 2010, three consulate employees were killed Barrio Azteca gang members . The victims were
identified as Americans Lesley A. Enriquez, an official of the consulate, her
husband Arthur Haycock Redelfs, (in foto above)
They were travelling in a Toyota SUV with Texas plates. The gunmen chased them down and catching up to them, then blasting the vehicle with bullets,
right behind the City Hall. In the attack their ten month daughter, who was seated
in the rear in a baby seat, survived the attack.
In a separate incident, on the same day, Mexican citizen Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, who was the husband of a consular employee, was also killed, and the children of the couple ages 4 and 7 were injured by gun blasts and hospitalized. For additional information about Barrio Aztecas and information from transcripts, detailing the interworkings of the gang follow this hyperlink.
In a separate incident, on the same day, Mexican citizen Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, who was the husband of a consular employee, was also killed, and the children of the couple ages 4 and 7 were injured by gun blasts and hospitalized. For additional information about Barrio Aztecas and information from transcripts, detailing the interworkings of the gang follow this hyperlink.
Opening Statements
In opening statements, government lawyers said they plan to
prove that Gallegos Castrellon and other Barrio Azteca leaders gave orders to
raise the body count in Juarez as part of their strategy to win the cartel war
against the rival Sinaloa drug cartel.
The government also plans to prove that Gallegos Castrellon
put a 'lookout' on a white Honda Pilot and that this 'lookout' lead to the
shooting deaths of U.S. Consulate employee Leslie Ann Enriquez Catton, her
husband Arthur Redelfs, an El Paso County Jail detention officer, and Jorge
Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, the husband of a U.S. consulate employee.
The government says the jury will also hear radio
transmissions in which Gallegos Castrellon ordered the March 20, 2010, event to
proceed.
Gallegos Castrellon is also accused of ordering the car bomb
that exploded in Juarez injuring several Mexican federal police officers and
others. At least two Barrio Azteca gang members have agreed to cooperate in
providing testimony for this case.
Witness says Barrio Aztecas were trained by Zetas cartel
Barrio Azteca gang member turned government witness
testified Tuesday that his gang had received training on how to become better
killers from the notorious Zetas drug cartel.
Jesus Ernesto "Camello" Chavez Castillo, who is a
witness in the trial of Arturo Gallegos Castrellon in U.S. District Court,
testified that the Barrio Azteca gang sent two teams to Torreon, Mexico, to
train with the Zetas on how to become more proficient at killing targets.
Gallegos, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of being a
gang leader involved in the slayings of three people linked to the U.S.
Consulate in Juárez on March 13, 2010.
Chavez said Barrio Azteca members also learned how to kill
people who were inside moving vehicles.
The three victims linked to the U.S. Consulate — Arthur
Redelfs, his wife Lesley, and Jorge Salcido — were traveling in white sport
utility vehicles in Juárez when they were targeted by Barrio Aztecas who shot
at their vehicles. Lesley Enriquez Redelfs worked at the U.S. Consulate, and
Salcido was married to someone who also worked at the consulate.
On Tuesday, jurors listened to radio chatter between gang
members about the events that led up to the March 2010 slayings of the Redelfs
and Salcido.
Prosecutors produced the recordings of the radio communications,
but did not say how the recordings were obtained.
Chavez (at left) testified that Gallegos had asked for all Barrio
Azteca members to be on the lookout for a white Honda Pilot, after such a
vehicle was reportedly seen in the neighborhood where gang leaders lived, and
was suspected of casing the leaders' homes. According to radio chatter, two men
were in the white Honda Pilot, including one who had a "bowl" type
haircut.
Also in Tuesday's testimony, Chavez said that Barrio Azteca
leaders began to suspect that someone at the U.S. Consulate was helping the
rival Sinaloa drug cartel, possibly by providing visas to that cartel's
members. (Having visas to cross the border would facilitate drug-trafficking
into the United States.)
Chavez said the reason they suspected this was because people in El Paso were seemingly able to buy drugs at cheaper prices than the prices that the Barrio Azteca gang offered. The gang leaders tried to investigate but their investigation did not lead to any answers, Chavez testified.
Chavez said the reason they suspected this was because people in El Paso were seemingly able to buy drugs at cheaper prices than the prices that the Barrio Azteca gang offered. The gang leaders tried to investigate but their investigation did not lead to any answers, Chavez testified.
Chavez testified that he oversaw a group of hit squads that
were responsible for killing more than 2,000 people in Juárez during the drug
cartel wars between the Carrillo Fuentes organization, which was allied with
the Barrio Azteca gang, and the Sinaloa drug cartel led by Joaquin
"Chapo" Guzman, which had other gang allies. Chavez said his part in
the violence ended with his arrest in July 2010.
Chavez testified that higher-ups had ordered the Barrio
Azteca gang to keep the body count up by killing at least eight people per day
in Juárez. Chavez said he was not sure at first they could kill that many
people until Barrio Azteca leaders told him how to divide up the work among the
different hit squad members.
He testified that the leaders advised him to hit "easy
targets" like members of the rival Artistas Asesinos gang, including
anyone who happened to be hanging around the gang.
Chavez testified that Gallegos, known as "El
Farmero" and "El Benny," informed the Barrio Aztecas that the
gang leaders had agreed to support La Linea — the enforcement arm of the
Carrillo Fuentes cartel that included corrupt police — and that's why Barrio
Aztecas expanded their drug distribution role to include more slayings.
Chavez said it was during this time that he began collecting
"cuotas" (protection payments) from businesses in the downtown Juárez
area that was under his control. The businesses had agreed to support Barrio
Aztecas and the money collected from them was used by the gang to pay off
police in Juárez, he said.
Chavez testified that he never saw his wife and stepdaughter
again after they left Mexico City, where he was being held in 2010, on their
way to Juárez with the intent of fleeing Juárez. He said that his elderly
parents made it safely to the United States and that they receive compensation
from the U.S. government for their needs.
The admitted Barrio Azteca member testified that he was
behind the slayings of 800 people in Juárez between January and August of 2009,
but that he stopped counting after that. Upon further questioning, he said
additional killings before and after that period could have included 1,500 more
victims.
Randolph Ortega, Gallegos' defense lawyer, began poking
holes in Chavez's testimony under cross-examination, pointing out
inconsistencies and contradictions in statements he gave to officials about his
part in the March 13, 2010, slayings and other matters related to the Barrio
Aztecas and La Linea.
Barrio Azteca gang
member recounts Juárez cartel war killings
Chavez is expected to continue testifying today about his relationship with Gallegos, the gang, La Linea (enforcement arm of the Vicente Carillo Fuentes drug cartel in Juárez), and his knowledge of the shooting deaths of detention officer Arthur Redelfs, his wife Lesley Ann Enriquez Redelfs, who worked at the U.S. Consulate in Juárez, and of Jorge Salcido Ceniceros, husband of Hilda Salcido who also worked at the consulate.
On another occasion, Chavez testified, he was falsely accused of killing a prostitute in central Juárez who was suspected of talking too much. Gang leaders had asked Chavez to simply get her out of the downtown area.
The Border Patrol specialist said she was able to alert Mexican officials about suspicious or unsafe activities that the cameras picked up on the Mexican side of the border. Border officials were on alert on account of numerous reported shootings and people fleeing Mexico, she said.
Source: El Paso Times( by Diana Washington Valdez)and BB archive
Barrio Azteca gang member gave bone-chilling testimony
Monday about his role in the violence that ignited Juárez during the drug
cartel wars and left among its victims a U.S. Consulate employee and her
husband, an El Paso County jail detention officer.
Jesus Ernesto "Camello" Chavez Castillo, a
government witness, was among the first to testify in the trial of Arturo
Gallegos Castrellon in U.S. District Court in El Paso. Gallegos is accused of
being a gang leader involved in the killing of three people linked to the U.S.
Consulate in Juárez on March 13, 2010.
Chavez described how he rose through the ranks of the
prison-based Barrio Azteca gang, how he corrupted a Juárez Cereso warden, and
how he killed and mutilated people for the gang, sometimes on orders from
Gallegos.
Chavez is one of two Aztecas who are scheduled to testify
against Gallegos. His testimony in court is helping to establish his
credentials as a gang insider.
Chavez is expected to continue testifying today about his relationship with Gallegos, the gang, La Linea (enforcement arm of the Vicente Carillo Fuentes drug cartel in Juárez), and his knowledge of the shooting deaths of detention officer Arthur Redelfs, his wife Lesley Ann Enriquez Redelfs, who worked at the U.S. Consulate in Juárez, and of Jorge Salcido Ceniceros, husband of Hilda Salcido who also worked at the consulate.
Gallegos (alias "Benny," "Farmero,"
"51" and "Guero") has pleaded not guilty. He faces life in
prison if he is convicted.
Chavez testified that he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to
11 life sentences plus 10 years for his role in the slayings of the Redelfs and
Salcido, and other crimes. He said he agreed to cooperate with government
lawyers in exchange for protection inside the prison system - he fears
retaliation from the Barrio Azteca - and for his elderly parents to receive
care in the United States.
He testified that he hopes to have his sentence reduced for
cooperating with the government.
"I feel I did the right thing, since I did so much
wrong," he testified.
Chavez said he first joined the Barrio Azteca when he was in
a prison in Louisiana "because they were from El Paso and for
protection." He was deported to Mexico after serving his sentence, where
he hooked up with other gang members there.
He testified that the Barrio Azteca uses a military-style
structure and ranks that includes captains at the top, followed by lieutenants,
sergeants, team leaders, soldiers and prospects (candidates for membership).
The gang's "sacred rules" are to put the gang above everyone else,
including relatives.
Chavez testified that he was not in Juárez long before he
was called on to help "clean" areas for the Barrio Azteca to maintain
control of drug dealing. The gang divided their areas of responsibility along
the geographical boundaries of the Juárez city police districts.
He used a bat to beat and kill people who gave the Barrio
Azteca problems, and testified that people could be eliminated if they sold
drugs without the gang's permission, snitched on the gang, stole from the gang,
or belonged to rival organizations that served the Sinaloa drug cartel, such as
the Artistas Asesinos (Assassin Artists) gang.
As he rose in the organization, Chavez testified that he
took over Anapra's drug distribution network, and killed people who tried to
defy him there. He was asked to join a "rapid response team" that
served the gang's needs, and later a hit squad tasked to kill the gang's
enemies. He testified that the Juárez police were not considered enemies of the
gang.
Around mid-2007, Chavez testified, Gallegos said the gang
was going to join with La Linea to battle against the Sinaloa cartel. The
cartels were fighting over the right to control the lucrative Juárez-El Paso
drug-smuggling corridor. Chavez testified that the Barrio Azteca was involved
in cross-border drug-trafficking, and used illegal border-crossers to carry
backpacks filled with drugs at points near Anapra.
Undocumented immigrants also were used to distract the
Border Patrol from those who were sent (between the ports of entry) across the
border with the backpacks.
At some point, Chavez testified, he also got involved with
the 2009 kidnapping and dismemberment of Gilberto "Greñas" Ontiveros'
son, also named Gilberto.
The elder Ontiveros was a notorious drug dealer in Juárez
who was known for his shaggy hair and for checking out of the Cereso prison on
weekends to go dancing at disco clubs. After that embarrassing disclosure,
Mexican officials transferred Ontiveros to a prison in Mexico's interior.
Ontiveros returned to the border in 2007 after serving his
sentence, and was reported asking about commercial properties in Juárez that
the government had appropriated.
Chavez said the son was killed because the elder Ontiveros
was suspected of working with the Sinaloa cartel.
Chavez also testified that he took part in about eight
beheadings in Juárez, and tortured people to extract information from them. He
testified that he also killed a woman, the daughter of a heroin dealer, by
placing duct tape around her head to suffocate her and then shooting her in the
head.
On another occasion, Chavez testified, he was falsely accused of killing a prostitute in central Juárez who was suspected of talking too much. Gang leaders had asked Chavez to simply get her out of the downtown area.
Reputed gang capo Eduardo "Tablas" Ravelo was
upset because her murder - she was also raped and one of her breast nipples was
bitten off - was going to bring heat on the gang.
But, Chavez testified, he
told the gang that he didn't murder the woman and offered to prove it. Ravelo
is a fugitive and is on the FBI 10 Most Wanted list.
Barrio Azteca ordered Chavez to surrender to the Chihuahua
state special prosecutor that investigates women's murders, Chavez testified,
and eventually a DNA test and the gang's independent investigation exonerated
him of the woman's death.
Chavez also served time at the Cereso jail in Juárez, where
he helped to smuggle weapons and drugs for the gangs. He also testified that he
bribed a Cereso director, which permitted the gang to receive visitors that
were not searched by the jail guards, and that the gang managed to get a
previous Cereso director removed who was giving them problems.
"The Cereso was the Barrio Azteca's most profitable
(drug) storefront," Chavez testified.
He said the gang, which hid the weapons in sand for making
concrete blocks at Cereso, was arming itself for a possible war against rival
gangs inside the Cereso. Chavez was released from Cereso before the conflict
broke out, he testified.
On Monday, government lawyers alleged in opening arguments
that Gallegos and other Aztecas participated in high-scale violence in Juárez
on orders "to keep the body count up," as part of a plan to get
control of the streets of Juárez. Nearly 11,000 people died in Juárez during
the peak of the drug cartel wars (2007-2012).
Prosecutors said recordings of radio transmissions will show
that Gallegos played a key role in the consulate-related killings on March 13,
2010.
The Redelfs were traveling in a white Toyota and Salcido was
in a white Honda when Barrio Azteca members allegedly followed them in separate
vehicles and fired numerous round at them. Salcido's wife was in a third
vehicle following behind her husband, who died in the attack.
The government has alleged that Gallegos sent out a
"lookout" (an alert) to Aztecas for a white Honda SUV about 10 days
before the attacks.
Gallegos allegedly gave the order to proceed with the
shootings after a Barrio Azteca underling notified Gallegos that the vehicle
that the Redelfs were in was a white Toyota and not a Honda. The couple's
toddler in the back seat survived.
The defense plans to argue that officials could have
prevented the deadly attacks, and that Gallegos was tortured by Mexican
officers in Mexico before he provided the FBI with a written confession.
Before Chavez took the stand Monday, a U.S. Border Patrol
enforcement sector specialist testified about surveillance cameras that
recorded a fast-moving vehicle that appeared to pursue the Redelfs' Toyota, and
a red Pontiac that the Toyota wrecked with at an intersection in Juárez near
the Stanton Street bridge.
The Border Patrol specialist said she was responsible for
monitoring 50 surveillance cameras on the U.S. side of the border that among
other things can zoom in on people, vehicles and buildings on the Juárez side.
The Border Patrol specialist said she was able to alert Mexican officials about suspicious or unsafe activities that the cameras picked up on the Mexican side of the border. Border officials were on alert on account of numerous reported shootings and people fleeing Mexico, she said.
In the mid-afternoon that day, a Border Patrol agent who saw
smoke asked her to pan a camera in the direction of the smoke. She told the
court that she noticed that Mexican soldiers and Mexican federal and local
police had gathered at the scene of the crash.
Also on Monday, a 19-year-old witness, who was identified
only as "A.W.," testified he was sitting in a red Pontiac car waiting
for a traffic light to change when the Redelfs' vehicle wrecked into his car.
He testified that he got out of his car, driven by his
mother, and walked over to the white Toyota with Texas plates, "to pay us
for the wreck." He discovered instead a man and a woman dead inside the
Toyota. "They were killed with gunshots," he testified.
"A.W." identified the couple from photographs that
were taken at the grisly scene. He was 16 years old at the time.
FBI agent says the
accused never told him he was tortured in Mexico
The defendant in a federal trial accused of conspiring to
kill three people linked to the U.S. Consulate in Juárez in 2010 did not tell
FBI agents that Mexican police tortured him before his interview with the U.S.
agents, a government witness testified Wednesday.
Arturo Gallegos Castrellon, (in foto above) through his lawyer Randolph
Ortega, had argued in court filings that he was tortured by Mexican police and
that Mexican law enforcement acted as agents of the FBI.
Gallegos, (alias "Benny" and "Farmero"
), an alleged Barrio Azteca leader in Juárez when the drug cartel wars broke
out, pleaded not guilty to various charges, including the murder conspiracy,
and to drug and firearms violations.
FBI Special Agent Carlos Hernandez testified Wednesday that
he was the FBI's legal attaché assigned to Mexico City when he interviewed
Gallegos in 2010 and processed his extradition to the United States.
Gallegos was limping and had reddish marks on his face when
he entered the room where he and two other FBI agents waited to interview him,
Hernandez testified.
"Gallegos indicated that he injured himself at the time
of his Juárez arrest when he tried to escape by jumping from a second story of
his residence and falling on a tree," Hernandez said.
Gallegos alleged his testicles were shocked with an electric
device, he was hanged by his arms and beaten and his wife was tortured and
raped by Mexican agents following his arrest in Juárez on Nov. 26, 2010.
While Gallegos declined to cooperate with U.S. authorities
regarding the three slayings in Juárez at the end of the Mexico City interview,
he provided the FBI with information about the Barrio Azteca organization,
Hernandez testified.
Jesus Ernesto "Camello" Chavez Castillo, a Barrio
Azteca turned government witness, testified that Mexican police tortured him
after arresting him in Juárez in 2010, and that worse torture followed at the
federal police headquarters in Mexico City.
Chavez testified that he was also tortured by Mexican
soldiers in Juárez during a previous apprehension on trumped-up drug charges.
"The Mexican army was looking for "Camello,"
but I did not tell them that it was me," Chavez testified. His experience
with torture at the hands of Mexican authorities included water-boarding,
electric shocks and being beaten with boards.
Chavez said he told Mexican officers anything they wanted
him to say just to end the torture.
In response to whether he ever saw Gallegos torture anyone,
Chavez testified that he was present at a Barrio Azteca safe house where a
couple of people pretending to be heroin buyers were taken for questioning.
Chavez said that Gallegos and Eduardo "Tablas"
Ravelo, the Barrio Azteca leader in Juárez, went into the room with the
supposed heroin buyers.
"I heard the punches and the beatings," Chavez
testified, and added that the subjects turned out to be "newspaper people
from the United States." He did not identify them or say whether they were
released.
Gallegos told the agents that he had served time at La Tuna
in Anthony, Texas, from 1998 to 2000, and went to work for the Barrio Azteca
after he was deported to Juárez, selling small amounts of narcotics in the
city, Hernandez testified.
Hernandez said that in 2008, Gallegos told the agents he
went to work for La Linea, trafficking marijuana into the United States under
"La Gata" (Oscar Alonso Escajeda Candelaria) in the Juárez Valley, a
region across the border from Fabens and Tornillo. La Linea refers to the
enforcement arm of the Carrillo-Fuentes drug cartel, also known as the Juárez
cartel.
Escajeda was extradited by Mexico to the United States in
2009 to face drug-trafficking charges.
Hernandez testified that Gallegos told the FBI agents that
around 2009 he went back to work for the Barrio Azteca in Juárez, and was given
more responsibilities, such as being required to traffic 90 pounds of marijuana
across the border three times a week.
Hernandez testified that Gallegos also said that in 2009,
"Diego" (Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez) was in charge of La Linea,
which took over the cocaine market during the drug wars, and assigned the
Barrio Azteca to handle the sales of heroin and marijuana.
Gallegos told the FBI that problems with the rival Sinaloa
drug cartel began on or about 2008 when members of the Sinaloa cartel killed
people who were close to "J.L.," Hernandez testified.
"J.L." refers to Jose Luis Ledezma, a former leader of La Linea in
the state of Chihuahua agent Hernandez said.
"Gallegos indicated that J.L. began providing weapons
to the B.A. (Barrio Azteca) to kill members of the Sinaloa cartel,"
Hernandez testified.
Hernandez testified that Gallegos said that
"Diego" (Acosta), as head of La Linea, was based in the
Carrillo-Fuentes drug cartel's state headquarters, called "La
Oficina" (the office), in Chihuahua City, and that he gave orders for
"hits" (people to be killed) that were passed on to Gallegos and that
Gallegos further passed on to the Barrio Azteca gang members.
Gallegos told the FBI agents that the "lookout"
request for a white Hondo pilot was based on information that such a vehicle
with tinted windows was seen driving around an area in Juárez that the Barrio
Azteca controlled. The suspicious vehicles had two men in it who "appeared
to be from the south of Mexico," Hernandez testified. The
"lookout" request was passed on to Chavez, who was in charged of
surveillance for the Barrio Azteca.
Acosta was sentenced in 2012 by U.S. District Judge Kathleen
Cardone to 10 life terms in connection with the conspiracy related to the
deaths of the consulate-linked victims, among other charges.
Although he pleaded guilty to the charges, Acosta denied
back then that he had a direct role in the three murders
"I personally had no knowledge of the actions of the
Barrio Azteca," Acosta said in court in 2012. "I did not find out
about it until much later. I coordinated what was La Linea in Juárez. The
Barrio Azteca was very independent. They had their leader, (Eduardo)
Ravelo."
Hernandez testified that Gallegos told the FBI in 2010 that
"Popeye" (Martin Perez Marrufo) and "Zorro" (Jose G. Diaz
Diaz), both Barrio Azteca members, were the shooters in the slayings of Arthur
Redelfs and his wife Lesley Enriquez Redelfs, who were in a white Toyota, and
of Jorge Salcido, who was driving a white Honda Pilot. Enriquez Redelfs worked
at the U.S. consulate and Salcido was married to a woman who worked at the
consulate.
Chavez, alias "Camello," testified on Wednesday
that although he too pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill the three people on
March 13, 2010, he does not believe he is responsible for their deaths. At
first, Chavez testified, he thought the victims were targeted because of ties
to the consulate.
However, he testified, after reviewing the recordings of the
radio chatter and transcripts of the communications between the Barrio Azteca
gang members, he realized that their deaths "was a mistake," and that
they were not the intended targets.
Relative of kingpin
Vicente Carrillo Fuentes testifies
A relative of Mexican drug kingpin Vicente Carrillo Fuentes
testified Thursday as a government witness in the federal trial of Arturo
Gallegos Castrellon, an alleged Barrio Azteca leader accused of conspiring to
kill three people with links to the U.S. Consulate in Juárez.
Fernando Carrillo, 33, a former Barrio Azteca member, said
he grew up around drug-trafficking and that two of his uncles are involved in
the drug trade.
His testimony provided glimpses into the possible tensions
between a regional cartel leader in Chihuahua, Jose Luis "J.L"
Ledezma, and Barrio Azteca leader Eduardo "Tablas" Ravelo in Juárez.
"My uncles are nephews of Vicente Carrillo
Fuentes," testified Carrillo, who used eyeglasses and a wore a shirt and
tie and dress slacks with a large "G" belt buckle. Carrillo testified
that he wanted to work for the Juárez drug cartel, which is headed by his
relative, Carrillo Fuentes, and told the court he became a member of the Barrio
Azteca while he was incarcerated in the United States.
He testified that he knew "J.L." Ledezma, who was
the cartel's top leader in Chihuahua state, and attended a meeting at a ranch
outside Juárez with Ledezma, Ravelo, leader of the Barrio Azteca in Juárez,
someone nicknamed "Rafa," and Jesus "Camello" Castillo
Chavez, a leader of Barrio Azteca hit squads, who has also testified for the
government in the trial.
Carrillo identified the defendant in court, Gallegos, who
has pleaded not guilty to various charges, including conspiring to kill Arthur
Redelfs, an El Paso County jail detention officer, his wife, Lesley Enriquez
Redelfs, who worked at the U.S. Consulate in Juárez, and Jorge Salcido
Ceniceros, whose wife also worked at the consulate. Enriquez Redelfs was four
months pregnant when Barrio Azteca hit men shot them to death in Juárez on
March 13, 2010.
Carrillo testified that Ravelo became perturbed after
Ledezma asked him at the ranch meeting to go easy on Carrillo, and to not send
him out to commit "hits" (killings) right away because Carrillo had
recently been released from a U.S. prison.
"Tablas (Ravelo) wanted my help to take out
"J.L." (Ledezma) — I said no," Carrillo testified, explaining
that the cartel would send someone to kill anyone who tried to eliminate
Ledezma.
Ravelo, who is suspected of involvement in the 2010 slayings
of the three people with links to the U.S. Consulate, is one of the FBI's Most
Wanted fugitives. Ledezma, who was being sought by Mexican officials, has not
been seen in the Chihuahua region in recent years.
Carrillo testified that one of the Barrio Azteca members
told him that "Farmero," one of the nicknames for Gallegos, "is
getting crazy. He's killing a lot of people."
Carrillo testified that he was deported to Mexico after
serving his sentence, and reported to a Barrio Azteca representative in Juárez.
He said he also worked for La Linea, the drug cartel's enforcement arm, which
he described as organized crime. He said Barrio Azteca was merely a prison gang
before the drug cartel wars broke out in Juárez.
The role of the Barrio Azteca in Juárez changed in 2007-2008
with the drug cartel wars, he said.
"The (Carrillo-Fuentes) cartel decided to give 'their
work' to the Barrio Azteca, which was mostly killing," Carrillo testified.
"Fresa" said 'we are at war right now, we are helping the Juárez drug
cartel.'" "Fresa," a Barrio Azteca member, is the nickname of
Alberto Nuñez Payan, who was indicted by U.S. officials on various charges.
At the time, Carrillo testified, the gang members were
instructed to keep a low profile and conceal their tattoos to avoid being
identified by rival gangs that worked for the Sinaloa drug cartel.
Carrillo testified that he delivered about 60 grams of
cocaine per week to the Mexican side of the border for about 10 months, and
began smuggling marijuana to the U.S. on the side of the border, which got him
arrested. "I tried to (transport) marijuana to Memphis for myself,"
he testified.
Also on Thursday, the court heard from Gualberto Marquez,
another Barrio Azteca member turned government witness, and from FBI Special
Agent Samantha Mikeska, the FBI's lead gang investigator.
Marquez testified that his El Paso-based drug-trafficking
cell was going strong before he got busted in 2009. He said that during one
six-month period his organization was processing 350 to 500 kilograms of
cocaine a month, and at one point had $11.8 million in proceeds from drug
sales. "It took us two days to count the money," Marquez testified.
Mikeska testified about the Barrio Azteca leaders in the
United States who acted as the leadership umbrella for the Barrio Azteca gang
in the U.S. and Juárez. She identified a cell phone, which is evidence in the
trial, that U.S. prison officials found inside a cell belonging to one of the
gang leaders. The telephone was used to issue directives to other gang members.
Gallegos' defense lawyer, Randolph Ortega, told the court
that none of the information provided by Marquez or Mikeska had a direct
bearing on the defendant.
On Wednesday, U.S. officials testified about heroin that
smuggled into a U.S. prison for a Barrio Azteca leader inside the binding of a
book titled "The Whole Truth." The book was received into evidence as
well.
During the trial, which is concluding its first week today
(Friday), jurors saw photographs of beheaded and dismembered bodies, and heard
graphic testimony about the brutal acts that Barrio Azteca members committed
during the drug wars in Juárez.
What a bunch of rats.
ReplyDeleteThats what happends when u get in deep shit everbody starts ratting
DeleteEl Clavo. Todavia suena por hay
DeletePuro Sinaloa cartel.
ReplyDeleteApoco todavia existen esos weyes del sinaloa cartel
DeleteSimon compa, y es el Cartel mas grande que exciste.
DeleteChapo snitched LOL.... Jk pero Ya dio por luz que sus corridos son mas mentiras que la chingada.
DeleteReally sinaloa, chapete does not even run cd juarez. Aztecas run cd juarez. La linea took off to south chihuahua. All of cd juarez is run by the aztecas. Who ever controls el paso controls it all. I dont support the aztecas or anyone but i do support the facts. And the aztecas do control the el paso/juarez area. Its hard to break this group up because there are so many of them and they use the border system very well.
DeleteThat's right the aztekas are the main reason why chapo couldnt take over juarez
DeleteHere you go again with you Azteca chearleading. Instead of free loading off of society and talking your big cartel talk Get a Fucking Job like everbody else in this world .
Delete@3:01 did you even read the article? It's not about Sinaloa.
ReplyDeleteget it over it, these people love killing unarmed people. They got the guns and the power. You got AK47 pointed at u, they win,
ReplyDeletethe crooks and killers think they are cool
ReplyDeleteI smoke kools.
DeleteThe article initially states that the couple were traveling in a Toyota SUV, and later states that they were traveling in Honda Pilot. Which one is it? Also, it appears that the Rules of Evidence were not used by the defense counsel. The recordings should have been left out of the trial by filling Motion to Suppress if the government did not have warrant to listen to the radio calls. Furthermore, the defense counsel did not put the burden on the government to prove chain of custody of the recordings. This is probably the most damming part for these dick-less gang members.
ReplyDeleteImportantly, who is translating this article? It would be nice if the person translating can proof read it before posting.
A warrant is unneeded for radio calls since they are not private and can be intercepted by a receiver and recorded. Government need only prove the first and last link in chain of custody for admissibility; jury decides weight and value of evidence.
DeleteThis is a U.S. trail. The journalist works for an English language paper: El Paso Times.
DeleteRats fucking rats
ReplyDeleteEstos weyes no son nada al lado de la m
Delete@9:01a.m what r u an anonymous cartel member? U sound like joe pesci as tommy in goodfellas?
DeleteU S Armed forces should SWAT all these fuckers.I could be done in less time than it takes RATS to open their mouth.rats all so far.
DeleteFuck BA. Dinosaurs of the past.old news c/s
Deleteone of the businesses of the juarez gangs, murder for hire all over the US, hard to prove or investigate, but signs are there, chicago/latin kings-two six gangs, that sometimes contract kills to juarez sindicates, especially to bring down real hard to kill targets, and deflect attention from themselves...as if...
ReplyDelete"good things come to those that know how to wait" read the black roses funeral wreath from the colombian Ochoa family to CDJ Amado Carrillo Fuentes in his own funeral...(borderland beat?)
Im from chicago & know exactly what your talkin about. What side of the village are you from?
DeleteA former latin king until i catch them trading with the enemy and saw the mariconadas and the dirty dealings, there is no honor in any of the gangs, chi-town or anywhere else, it all sucks, for suckers only...
DeleteTo many perptraidors specially high rankers.
Delete7:19
ReplyDeleteI think you are still half asleep...:)
go back and read slowly.
as for translating. I may remind you El Paso is in Texas not Mexico,
no translation needed.
Por que no Dejas de habrir la mamadora, es facil hablar de algo, pero no lo vibes tu no andas en este jale
DeletePero no andas enojaooooo o si?
DeleteAtte: La Letra
Dear Chivis- Thanks for the excellent comprehensive article. With my being so far from home,BB is my only source of info. As an additional comment the Barrio Aztecs gang has been causing all kinds of chaos for years in Houston,San Antonio,Dallas and Austin. They may have started as a prison gang. But,as you have stated their rein of destruction has reached both sides of the border.
ReplyDeleteMuch gracias from Cape Town. Peace,Texas Grandma.
Cape town,south America?...mensa
Delete10:42am. Lmao. Yes some Mensa members are too lame to proof read before posting.Be it South Africa or B.F.E. I'm still far from home helping innocent children. Have a good day wherever you are,doing whatever you do.lol. Peace. Texas Grandma.
DeleteSo he is responsible for the torture and murders of hundreds to thousands, and now his defense is he was tortured by the Mexican police what a fucking hypocrite and coward!
ReplyDeleteThey do not need a warrent to monitor or record radio traffic, due to the technologies. Radio is openly broadcast, ANYONE can monitor it, there is no 'expectation of privacy', which is the legal standard.
ReplyDeleteRadios are not cell phones.
Eaven cell phones and text
DeleteNSA! You cant hide shit from those folks! Dont care where in the world u are!
Delete@feb 11, 8:38pm
DeleteWrong, NSA is unable to monitor number stations traffic.
thanks for comprehensive summary….following this closely.
ReplyDeleteAll of these gang and cartel fucks are so tough killing innocents. Then when its their turn they cry like little bitches!
ReplyDeleteNobody thinks they're tough and how do you know how they feel when they kill innocent people?
DeleteTough is to ger up everyday and actually earn a living, these cartel fucks should just get exterminated along with child molesters
DeleteAt 11:07 barrio azteca aint shit in houston
ReplyDeleteAztecas dont run Houston but they got there own connects in every city in tx, icluding houston. The tangos do buy drugs from the aztecas...
DeleteYou must be a tanga!!!
DeleteAll of you narco, gand fucks will have messed up ending to your lives if you don't repent and do some good for the last half of ypur lives!
DeleteHey
DeleteDo any of you live in Houston??? Barrio Aztecs and Tango Blast are running a lot of SW Houston. Go to buy gas there,get car jacked. They both sell a lot of meth. Then there'some invasions. I don't put crap out there,only facts. Read Stopgangshouston and get an education before you put your foot in your mouth.
And,if any of you are one of these gang members,you are really lame
Just saying
Peace to all innocents. Greetings from Cape Town,South Africa. Texas Grandma.
What kills me about these guys is that they are prison gangs! I say work them fools like a north korean prison camp and they wont have time to be sending kites or running shit!
DeleteThese gangs don't run shit the Police paid by the taxpayers run shit, out in the open with nothing to hide. You dont run shit robing and hiding from the cops because your scared
DeleteBunch of nobodys talkin bad about mexico....behind the screen...haha. then lock your doors when we walk by...
ReplyDelete"J.L former leader" more like current. He is full of power. Ravelo is his bit** he got a warning for trying to take out the boss. J.L the smartest person you can meet. A little violent. Pura linea. Donde esta el Chapo estara en columbia
ReplyDeleteJ.L. is not that smart, if he's wanted by his own gang and the government! A smart man would have been on the other side of the law and got rich the legit way!
DeleteEl chapo esta jalando masiso por esos rumbos
DeleteJl is dead. They killed him like 4 years ago
DeleteColombia
Deleteoye... @ February 9, 2014 at 7:19 AM - callete!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteAre the indiscriminate killings STILL taking place in Mexico or has the violence simmered down, i.e. subsided? IS it dangerous to travel through these border towns? Are these ritualistic satanic killings?
Conclusion: if you fuck with us (by issuing visas to our rivals), we will fuck with you too (by killing)!
ReplyDeleteThis is a classical case of how one organized crime syndicate (Barrio Azteca) deals with another crime syndicate (the US government).
These men are truly monsters, the government should not make deals with these animals.. And to the one said that they are pure rats. It's true. Your boss and "friends" will give you up once they get caught. They will gladly throw you under the boss once the heat is on.The only ones, I repeat . That will support you from the beginning to the end is your direct family. There are no friends in this world. All pf them will abandon you once you don't serve a need for them. It's just how the world works.
ReplyDeleteIs it true the Barrio Azteca has taken over the El Paso/Juarez drug corridor alongside El Chapo? How active or relevant are the Artistas Assesinos in Juarez? Are the Sinaloa cartel and Juarez cartel still at war?
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing your illiterate cuz it appears u didn't read the article or any of the comments.
DeleteThese assholes are zombies, they have no brains and no soul and have ceased to be human a long time ago. Not even footsoldiers as they are totally disposable to the cartel, an article here not long ago about these garbage said they number above 10, 000. I say there's probably more. Imagine. Just imagine the capacity for criminal activity, and then people wonder so much about who's killed all those thousands of girls in juarez. Probably not for them but for their bosses, just like brad pitt says it on that movie the counselor when he talks about the drug wars and the dead girls of juarez...these psicothic assholes (the very top bosses) have unimaginable amounts of money and the are insane beyond human recognition they commit all kinds of atrocities that one cannot even begin to imagine.
ReplyDeleteMexico is doomed.
wow a terrible story, why can't these gangs all get a long and work together?
ReplyDeleteBecause some of they're bosses are fucking greety and they don't like sharing the wealth...
DeleteLa linea + aztecas = dead chaputos
ReplyDeleteLa linea(marranos) aztecas(jaipos) =cagadero en juarez
ReplyDeleteZ + Lineas y Aztecas = Chaputo llorando y a gritos pidiendole ayuda a sus wachitos en el Sur de Chiwas...
DeleteCartel devils will burn in hell forever. Judgement Day is near.
ReplyDeleteJL Lives
ReplyDeleteExpect Chapo to testify as he is a snitch.
ReplyDeletechi-town vilage, can't say, but you reaffirm my suspicions elaborate and post if you can...later
ReplyDeleteHola Tex Gma...
ReplyDeleteWrite to me sometime, I want to ask you something...paz,
chivis.martinez@hushmail.com
Texas Grandma why arent u helping people here and complaing about violence over here when your not even living here?
ReplyDelete