Hector Galindo, 38, aka "Silent," of El Paso, currently serving a 25-year Texas state sentence for murder, was sentenced to life in prison. [68] They work day in and day out, often with a list of people to kill. Infighting Hurt the Barrio Aztecas Who Worked for Juarez Cartl [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. Currently one of the most violent gangs in the United States, they are said to have over 3,000 . As Barrio Azteca grew in power, it began to work directly with the Juarez Cartel and their alliance grew stronger. [52] Others had other speculations on the attack; it was unclear whether the consulate worker was targeted for being slow with the visas of some cartel members; whether the worker had angered some members inside a Texan prison; whether the attack intended to be a message to the American drug agents; or whether simply case of mistaken identity. [20] At one point, inmates could be seen lighting mattresses and bodies being thrown from second-story windows. [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. 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. [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. RELATED:Feds: Fugitive Texas elementary teacher tied to hit men, drug running and kidnapping. [12] The Barrio Azteca has long sold drugs moved by the Jurez Cartel. 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. Police: Arrested gang leader's double-cross fuels Jurez violence The gang also tortures and murders its victims in front of a large and cheering gang audience. We will continue aggressively to pursue the Barrio Azteca and other gangs so that communities in the United States and Mexico can live free from the violence and destruction of organized crime., These sentences represent the FBIs commitment to the aggressive pursuit of criminal enterprises such as the Barrio Aztecas whose presence pose a significant risk to citizens on both sides of the border, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Morgan. [11], The gang has a militaristic structure, and includes captains, lieutenants, sergeants, and foot soldiers used with the sole purpose of maintaining territorial control and enriching its members and associates through drug trafficking, homicide, money laundering, extortion, and intimidation. New foe in U.S. drug war: Mexican assassins - NBC News 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. The so-called "hybrid members" allow the gangs to grow their empires with increased influence both in prisons and on the streets. [46][47] A day after the killings, the United States Department of State authorized the temporary departure of the workers in the U.S. consulate throughout northern Mexico, including the cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey, and Ciudad Jurez. [22], At around 9:00p.m. on 26 July 2011, the Barrio Azteca carried out an attack on Los Mexicles, a street gang of the Sinaloa cartel, which left 17 dead and 20 injured inside a prison in Ciudad Jurez. 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. Texas Mexican Mafia comes in a distant second with 4,700 members, followed by the Texas Syndicate (3,400 members), Latin Kings (2,100 members) and MS-13 (800 members). The Barrio Azteca began in the late 1980s as a prison gang but has since expanded into a transnational criminal organization with approximately 3,500 members, including 600 active members. 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. FBI New Top Ten - Barrio Azteca Leader 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. [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. Family launches GoFundMe to help man shot during Fiesta in S.A. 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Some of the violence was captured by a surveillance video that shows two gunmen clearing a hallway of guards before unlocking a door and allowing several triggermen to shoot inside a room where the inmates were killed. 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. Barrio Azteca ~ Borderland Beat In the 2000s, the BA formed an alliance in Mexico with La Linea, which is part of the Juarez Drug Cartel (also known as the Vincente Carrillo Fuentes Drug Cartel or VCF). They often use the letters "BA" or numbers "21" as their identifying symbols and tattoos. 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. Barrio Azteca Leader's Arrest Casts Doubt on Trump Border Rhetoric Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Ravelo was believed to issue orders for the organization in Jurez, to move back and forth across the US border, and to be responsible for a great deal of the violence that has wracked the border state. Valuable assistance was provided by the Criminal Divisions Offices of International Affairs and Enforcement Operations. [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. In that role, Galindo maintained communication with other BA Captains and Lieutenants in the United States and Mexico and was specifically in charge of BA operations in Texas. The gang members then beat up their victims and throw them in the hole. 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. The Barrio Azteca gang is known to engage in a wide range of criminal activity including contract killing, murder, torture, drug trafficking and human trafficking among other offenses. The gang, which refers to itself as the "Familia Azteca," requires members to prioritize gang activities over all else and has a set of "sacred rules," the breaking of which is grounds for harsh punishment and even death for gang members and their families. [citation needed] Numerous media outlets around the world considered Ciudad Jurez as one of the most dangerous if not the most dangerous city on the planet in 2010. Its members, or soldiers, are governed by captains, various lieutenants and numerous sergeants in the United States and Mexico. Vilnius. Some murders are carried out to intimidate and as retaliation attacks. A murder in Texas drives a huge investigation which often leads to an arrest. 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. We want to sustain Latin Americas largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources. Barrio Azteca Research Paper - 628 Words | Internet Public Library "[36] The federal government of Mexico responded to the massacre by implementing the "Todos Somos Jurez" program, which aimed to improve education and social development, create jobs, and improve the health benefits in Ciudad Jurez. [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. Witnesses also testified to the Barrio Aztecas practice of extorting quota or taxes on non-BA drug dealers who sold illegal narcotics in El Paso and the greater West Texas and Eastern New Mexico area. Official websites use .gov Evidence was presented that since 2003 the BA has trafficked hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and heroin. Of the 35 defendants charged, 33 have been apprehended, including April Cardoza, who was found in Juarez, Mexico, last week. 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. [18], According to reports of U.S. authorities, Ravelo was born in Mexico but has permanent residence in the United States. 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. Galindo, Gonzales and Garcia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering (RICO) on Jan. 26, 2012, Jan. 18, 2012, and Jan. 29, 2012, respectively. As of March 2015, the organization's top leader was Eduardo Ravelo, who formed part of the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list until he was arrested in July 2018. The power of Barrio Azteca in Jurez puts it in an advantageous position. [54], During a boy's birthday party at the Horizontes del Sur neighborhood in Ciudad Jurez, Chihuahua, several gunmen broke into a house and killed 14 people and wounded more than a twenty on 23 October 2010. The gang expanded after 1996, due in part to increasing deportations of imprisoned Mexican criminals by the United States. Main tasks to coordinate the process of employees accommodation and logistics. Under the tutelage of Ravelo, the gang moves narcotics along the border with the aid of Vicente Carrillo Fuentes' cartel. On June 26, members of the Mexican army and a special investigative unit arrested Eduardo . "[33], 2010 was the most violent year in the history of Ciudad Jurez, where more than 3,000 people were killed. Through the ongoing and joint efforts of the law enforcement community we will continue the fight to bring to justice predators such as Galindo, Gonzales and Garcia., 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. Mar 2019 - Jun 20212 years 4 months. Barrio Azteca Leader Sentenced to Life in Prison and Two Barrio Azteca [20] From a distance, family members awaited news as black smoke drifted from the prison and helicopters patrolled overhead. The gang operates with a hierarchical structure similar to that of the army. The Cereso jail in Jurez has also served as an important operational center for weapons and drugs smuggling, according to one former member. 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. [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. According to the February 2014 testimony of one jailed Azteca member serving as a witness in the trial of former leader Arturo Gallegos, members of the gang have received training from the Zetas in assassination, extortion and security. While incarcerated in the Texas Department of Corrections, he served as the right hand man to BA Captain Manuel Cardoza. 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. These command sergeants, who are not always fully-fledged members, and finally soldiers, or "indios," who are often underage and are used for the local distribution of small amounts of drugs. [42] Massacres, shootings, beheadings, torture videos on YouTube, and even car bombs were recorded in Ciudad Jurez that year. [24], Initial reports had stated that the massacre had started as a clash between prison gangs,[25] but the surveillance video shows "cold-blood executions," and that the members of the Barrio Azteca gang carried out the shootout without any provocation from their enemies. FBI 10 Most Wanted fugitive, Texas Barrio Azteca gang leader arrested 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 Jurez Cartel's armed wing, "La Linea," recruited members from Barrio Azteca to fight the Sinaloa Cartel in 2008, and many gang members were killed or arrested. Barrio Azteca also works with the Zetas. Roughly 33 percent of gang members entering the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system in 2014 were from the southeast Texas region, with 90 percent of those coming from Greater Houston. He allegedly pays his sicarios (hitmen) less than 500 pesos (or about $40 U.S. dollars) a week to carry out assassinations. 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. [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.
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