barrio azteca leaders

[20] At one point, inmates could be seen lighting mattresses and bodies being thrown from second-story windows. The Barrio Azteca is one of the most violent prison gangs operating. Not all the killings carried about by Ravelo's gang are a result of drug disputes. The drug routes through Juarez, known as the Juarez Plaza, are important to drug trafficking organizations because they are a principal illicit drug trafficking conduit into the United States. [10] By June 2020, the Sinaloa Cartel's Los Salazar cell, and not Barrio Azteca, was the only other organized crime group which was considered on par with La Linea for control of the Ciudad Jurez drug trafficking market. According to court documents and information presented in court, Galindo was a top Lieutenant in the BA. Barrio Azteca also draws recruits from Jurez jails who are attracted by the strict order that the gang enforces on members. 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. March 16, 2010. Please support our mission investigating organized crime. Testimony also indicated that the BA is well-organized and militaristic in structure. [73] On March 5, 2020, 9 suspected La Empresa members were arrested. RELATED:Feds: Fugitive Texas elementary teacher tied to hit men, drug running and kidnapping. By current estimates, more than 2,000 members make up their ranks. "I never even gave the United States much thought," said one of the family members, "But Mexico has abandoned us, betrayed us. The gang also allies with other gangs including the Mexican Mafia and MS-13. [70] Ravelo, who was also on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list,[70] is believed to have been in charge of the gang's operations in Jurez. All of these factors create a very real possibility that, if the gang were to gain control over US-bound drug shipments moving through Jurez, Barrio Azteca could move into full-blown international drug trafficking. 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. These prison sentences send a strong message that even the most powerful and ruthless gangs cannot evade justice. Furthermore, if the cartel needed to intimidate or carry out an assassination in the United States, they would simply call on the Barrio Azteca. [54][55] Mendez, who was the El Paso FBI office's most wanted fugitive and the last person sought for the attacks, also made La Empresa a hybrid of Barrio Azteca. [78], "Negotiating Violence and Protection in Prison and on the Outside: The Organizational Evolution of the Transnational Prison Gang Barrio Azteca - R. V. Gundur, 2020", "Barrio Azteca Leader Gets Life in Prison", "Cartel de Azteca G Poised for Leap into International Drug Trade", "Colombian Trafficker with Links to Mexican and Colombian Cartels Extradited from Mexico to the United States", "Raids Aim to Find Killers of 3 in Mexico", "Why the Jalisco Cartel Does Not Dominate Mexico's Criminal Landscape", "Alleged mastermind of Jurez rehab massacre arrested", "Mexican traffickers get help from US prison gangs", "He's called the face of Ciudad Juarez terror", "20 killed in riot at Ciudad Juarez prison", "At least 20 dead in Mexican prison riot", "Rival drug gangs in Juarez prison clash, leaving 20 convicts dead RIOT: 200 police needed to gain prison control", "Mexican prison massacre that left 17 dead captured on video", "Sinister Details Emerge of Mexico Jail Massacre", "Video suggests Mexico prison guards' apparent involvement in shootings", "Jurez llora; exigen justicia tras matanza", "Death toll at 16 in Juarez party shooting", "Death toll in Mexican party massacre rises to 16", "Gunmen in Mexico Kill 16 in Attack on a Teenagers' Party", "More than a dozen die in Jurez massacre", "Families of 16 killed in Juarez massacre may seek safety in U.S.", "Presidential follow-up: Felipe Caldern visits families of young massacre victims in Jurez", "Mayor believes massacre at Juarez party that killed 16 was random", "Court convicts 4 in Mexico massacre case", "Mexico arrests suspect in Ciudad Juarez shooting attack on party", "Men convicted in Jurez birthday party massacre each get 240-year prison sentences", "Juarez Drug Cartel Leader Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to U.S. Consulate Murders and Is Sentenced to Life in Prison", "Mexican Drug Gang Leader Confesses to Killings", "Ciudad Juarez's drug war death toll hits 3,000", "Killing for kudos the brutal face of Mexico's 21st-century war", "Special report: Jurez deserves the title of most dangerous city in the world", "Two Drug Slayings in Mexico Rock U.S. Consulate", "Cartel Hit Men Blamed For Latest Juarez Slayings", "Mexico killings: Gunmen kill 3 with ties to US consulate", "Mxico extradita a EU al presunto lder del grupo criminal Barrio Azteca", "Mexico extradites suspect in US consulate killing", "Mexico extradites suspect in U.S. consulate killing", "Suspect Says Jurez Killers Had Pursued Jail Guard", "Mexican gang member sentenced to life in U.S. prison for murders", "Manhunt ends; final suspect in U.S. Consulate in Juarez murders captured", "Mexico Arrests Gangster Wanted for US Consulate Murders", "Death Toll in Jurez Attack Rises to 14", "13 partygoers killed by gunmen in attack in Ciudad Juarez", "Mexico: 13 dead in massacre at Ciudad Juarez party", "13 youths killed in massacre at birthday party in Ciudad Juarez", "13 Are Killed as Gunmen Storm House in Mexico", "Massacre At A Ciudad Juarez Family Party Leaves 13 Dead", "El ataque en Jurez estaba dirigido a un joven apodado El Ratn, indican pesquisas", "Barrio Azteca Leader Extradited from Mexico to United States to Face Charges Related to the U.S. Consulate Murders in Juarez, Mexico", "Barrio Azteca Leader Sentenced to Life in Prison and Two Barrio Azteca Soldiers Sentenced to 20 and 30 Years in Prison", "New adversary in U.S. drug war: Contract killers for Mexican cartels", "Barrio Azteca threat targets law officers", "FBI fugitive Barrio Azteca gang leader Eduardo Ravelo wanted in el Paso, caught in Mexico", "BREAKING: Alleged Barrio Azteca leader, FBI Most Wanted, arrested - KVIA", "Mexico federal police arrest reputed Barrio Azteca gang leader 'El 300' in Chihuahua City", "Chaos erupts in Juarez as warring cartels retaliate against recent police arrests", "Jurez police, Mexican army arrest 9 suspected members of la Empresa cartel crime group", "Jurez police arrest reputed Azteca 'Old Guard' gang leader on binational wanted list", "Cartel's alleged heroin distributor nabbed trying to cross 11 pounds into US", "Attacks on Jurez police erupt after arrest of reputed gang leader 'El Iraqui', "Gang leader's arrest triggers backlash in Chihuahua", R. V. Gundur. The group has control over other local gangs, has members across the border, and already moves drug shipments across the border. [5] Outside of prison, members would contact imprisoned leaders to verify a status of a person using the name of Barrio Azteca to operate and see if they were in good standing with the organization. Main tasks to coordinate the process of employees accommodation and logistics. A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Gustavo "Tavo" Gallardo, formerly a leader of the Barrio Aztecas in El Paso, testified in court that long before the drug cartel wars began in 2008 in Juarez, the Carrillo Fuentes drug cartel wanted to kill off the Aztecas because they were suspected of stealing millions of dollars from the cartel. 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. The organization, also known as Los Barrios, derives some of its strength through alliances with Mexican drug cartels. 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. 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 Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman for the 9, Vilniuje. 10 were here. He also participated in the BA's activities by distributing narcotics, including heroin and cocaine, and collected extortion funds that were . The Barrio Azteca came out of Texas prisons but has since formalized its structure to become a drug trafficking cartel. [14], Barrio Azteca is also reported to have kidnapped people in El Paso and drive them south into Ciudad Jurez to kill them. 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. 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. [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. We then verify, write and edit, providing the tools to generate real impact. The Barrio Azteca was organized in the El Paso, Texas, County Jail in 1987 from where it moved to the streets and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison system. Because of the BAs alliance with the Juarez Drug Cartel, the gang receives illegal drugs at low cost and profits on its importation, sale and distribution within the United States. While incarcerated in the Texas Department of Corrections, he served as the right hand man to BA Captain Manuel Cardoza. 2019. The Barrio Azteca prison gang - which has chapters in El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico - has historically been linked to the Juarez Cartel. 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. 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. [38] He confessed to the authorities that the Jurez Cartel had received reports from within the organization that members of a rival drug trafficking organization were at the party the night the teenagers were killed. The group has as many as 5,000 members in the Juarez area alone. 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. [68] After fulfilling their mission, the gang members return to safe houses throughout the city or return across the international bridge to El Paso. [64] Officials on both sides of the border have observed how Barrio Azteca locate their targets, stalk them and finally ambush them in multiple car chases, using coded radio communications, coordinated blocking maneuvers, and with well-trained shooters wearing ski masks and body armor. [69], On June 26, 2018, Barrio Azteca Capo Eduardo "Tablas" Ravelo was arrested. [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. 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. [28] Some of the teenagers were shot as they tried to flee and their corpses were found in the neighboring houses. The attacks brought down a great deal of pressure from the US government, which issued a federal indictment of 35 Barrio Azteca members in Texas in March 2011 on counts of extortion, murder, drug trafficking and money laundering. [12] In addition, Barrio Azteca controls most of the drug sales for the Jurez Cartel in Ciudad Jurez's streets and prisons, although other gangs and independent operators abound. Joshua Fechter is a reporter covering City Hall and San Antonio politics for the Express-News. Of the 35 defendants charged, 33 have been apprehended, including April Cardoza, who was found in Juarez, Mexico, last week. 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). [15] Whatever the reasons, the attack sent shock waves and huge concern for the United States' role in Mexico, and how American street gangs are quickly adopting the violent tactics of Mexico's drug trafficking organizations and making alliances with them just across the border. 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. 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. [38] The suspect said he acted as a lookout for the 24 gunmen that perpetrated the killing and had orders to "kill everyone inside. [65] The locus of power of Barrio Azteca is based inside prisons, prompting worries that the operational capacity of the gang is not hindered when its leaders are imprisoned. About. [31] They gave no official statement for the motives behind the killing, but the massacre bore all the signs of the drug violence that Ciudad Jurez was living for the past three years. Because of the BAs alliance with the Juarez Drug Cartel, the gang receives illegal drugs at low cost and profits on its importation, sale and distribution within the United States. We go into the field to interview, report and investigate. 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. He also unveiled a billboard facing traffic in El Paso, Texas heading into Mexico that reads "No More Weapons," and criticized the United States for not renewing a ban on the sales of assault weapons that expired in 2004. [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. [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. [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. [19] It took the guards, police, and Mexican military more than three hours to put down the unrest inside the prison. [26] Moreover, the prison was highly overcrowded, with over 2,700 inmates in a facility with a capacity of only 850 prisoners. The gang's highly organized nature has helped it gain membership on both sides of the border, and it could now be in a position to make the leap into large-scale transnational organized crime. [8], Some believe that the growth of Barrio Azteca in Mexico is due to the area's distinctive cross-border nature. They often use the letters "BA" or numbers "21" as their identifying symbols and tattoos. 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. [48], The leader of Barrio Azteca, Arturo Gallegos Castrelln, better known for his nickname El Farmero, ordered the execution of two American consulate workers and a Mexican with ties to the agency in Ciudad Jurez on 13 March 2010. The gang operates with a hierarchical structure similar to that of the army. [11], The Barrio Azteca gang was formed in the jails of El Paso in 1986 and gained an image of being a tough and loyal gang willing to commit murder of civilians in order to keep fear in the minds of its members and ensure their loyalty/obedience. [17] In El Paso Ravelo's gang is known as Barrio Azteca, a gang originally morphed from the so-called Mexican Mafia prison gang. They began to recruit new inmates coming into the prison for violent gang crimes. According to the testimony of an alleged Barrio Azteca member, gang members torture and kill their victims by digging up holes in the ground, throwing a bunch of mesquite, and then pouring in some gasoline. 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. [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. DPS says the 2014 arrest of cartel leader Vicente Carrillo Fuentes diminished the gangs influence. In total, the gang had an estimated 5,000 members in Juarez and 3,000 in the United States in 2013, Insight Crime reported. By 2013, it reportedly had up to 5,000 in the Jurez area alone and an estimated 3,000 in the United States. Many of the members are in U.S. and Mexican prisons and. [30] When the Mexican authorities arrived, a large crowd gathered at the crime scene as the neighbors and family members of the victims, whose ages ranged from 15 to 20, cried and set down candles. [18], A fierce battle between rival drug trafficking organizations broke loose inside a prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Jurez on 5 March 2009. U.S. and Mexican law enforcement are actively seeking to apprehend the two remaining fugitives in this case, including Luis Mendez and Eduardo Ravelo, an FBI Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive. 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. "[10] Members usually have U.S. citizenship, making them ideal cross-border killers able to move back and forth across the U.S.-Mexico border. [1] In 2011, the FBI reported that Barrio Azteca also had members in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. [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. [68] They work day in and day out, often with a list of people to kill. The drug routes through Juarez, known as the Juarez Plaza, are important to drug trafficking organizations because they are a principal illicit drug trafficking conduit into the United States. [4][5][6] Currently one of the most violent gangs in the United States,[7] they are said to have over 3,000 members across the country in locations such as New Mexico, Texas, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania as well as at least 5,000 members in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The gangs alleged leader Eduardo Ravela is on the FBIs Top Ten most wanted list. Official websites use .govA .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. [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. Rangel. The group already controls local drug distribution, smuggles drugs across the border, and has members in Texas, providing it with essential connections to expand operations. The Barrio Azteca gang, also known as "Los Aztecas," was formed in the El Paso, Texas prison system in 1986. Felipe Caldern, Mexico's president, also visited the family members and handed a memorial plaque to the parents of the victims. The recent arrest of a top Barrio Azteca leader in Mexico offers additional insight into the criminal and drug trafficking dynamics along the US-Mexico border at a time when US President Donald Trump continues his rhetorical onslaught against the MS13. 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. Key responsibilities: - find and book accommodation for platers/brush cutters teams. While gang activity is widespread, only about 15 percent have more than 11 members. The federal agency is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to his capture.

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