barrio azteca leaders

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. Scroll through the slideshow for 10 facts you need to know about the Texas-Mexico border gang. By the early 2000s, the gang controlled prisons in Chihuahua, and has since continued to grow. [60] The killing in Horizontes del Sur bore striking similarities with the massacre in the Villas de Salvrcar neighborhood earlier that same year, which took place just a mile away and where 15 were gunned down at a party too. 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. 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. [20] The brawl, which was between Barrio Azteca and Los Mexicles, erupted at around 6 a.m. after the conclusion of a series of conjugal visits. [46] The weapons used in the attack and the style the U.S. officials were killed pointed to drug traffickers as suspects; evidence provided from American intelligence and Mexican authorities then pointed to Barrio Azteca as the perpetrators. [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. Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? [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. Eduardo "Tablas" Ravelo had been wanted for . 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., As members of the Barrio Azteca gang, Hector Galindo, Ricardo Gonzales and Adam Garcia participated in a brutal criminal enterprise dedicated to spreading fear and violence on both sides of the border, said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer. [64] The "life-blood" of the gang is the drug sale, which they buy at a low cost due to their alliance with the Jurez cartel and profits from its own importation to the U.S.[64] They also tax ("quota") independent drug dealers in El Paso, in other parts of West Texas, and in the Eastern part of New Mexico. 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 motorcycle gang has roots going back to the 1960s, but only debuted on the DPS's Texas Gang Threat Assessment in 2015 after a deadly clash with the Bandidos Motorcycle Club in Waco on May 17 that left nine people dead. "[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. [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. [37] It has fed up $400 million to repair the city's social fabric. 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. [18] Today, the gang has expanded into a large criminal gang with presence in both the United States and Mexico, besetting by drug trafficking and human smuggling. RELATED:Feds: Fugitive Texas elementary teacher tied to hit men, drug running and kidnapping. 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. [8], Some believe that the growth of Barrio Azteca in Mexico is due to the area's distinctive cross-border nature. [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. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( An official website of the United States government. [23] Although there was no audio in the video, the footage shows how two gunmen order the guards to leave. As Barrio Azteca grew in power, it began to work directly with the Juarez Cartel and their alliance grew stronger. [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. [71] On November 7, 2018, Rene Gerardo Santana Garza, known as "El 300," was arrested in Chihuahua City. [20] From a distance, family members awaited news as black smoke drifted from the prison and helicopters patrolled overhead. And, their numbers total in the thousands on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. 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. The relationships between gangs and cartels are constant, but show no particular loyalties or allegiances. 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. 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. The current leader of the Barrio Azteca, recognized by a majority of its members, is Mexican national Eduardo Ravelo. Felipe Caldern, Mexico's president, also visited the family members and handed a memorial plaque to the parents of the victims. By Fred Burton and Ben West On Nov. 3, a U.S. District Court in El Paso, Texas, began hearing a case concerning members of a criminal enterprise that calls itself Barrio Azteca (BA). 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. [23] The violence continued elsewhere throughout the prison until around 2 a.m. the next day. The gang operates with a hierarchical structure similar to that of the army. This is a carousel. 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. [68] Ciudad Jurez is filled with safe houses, armories and garages with stolen cars for the cartel members and assassins to use. Des Linden unveils new book, shares race day must-haves. Its members, or soldiers, are governed by captains, various lieutenants and numerous sergeants in the United States and Mexico. "[29][31] What was troubling for the authorities was that the victims were not gathered inside a bar or at a rehab center, but rather at a private home. [29][31] They pleaded for their names not to be released for the fear of the hit men returning and taking revenge. Evidence was presented that since 2003 the BA has trafficked hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and heroin. 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. Barrio Azteca - InSight Crime 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. The group has as many as 5,000 members in the Juarez area alone. Barrio Azteca Gang Leader Sentenced in Texas to Life in Prison Valuable assistance was provided by the Criminal Divisions Offices of International Affairs and Enforcement Operations. The mastermind behind the murders, Arturo Gallegos Castrellon, received a life sentence in April 2014. The gang also controls local drug distribution, extortion rackets and human smuggling in Jurez, and uses other smaller, local gangs for manpower, as well as charging other criminals to operate in its territory. [28] Some of the teenagers were shot as they tried to flee and their corpses were found in the neighboring houses. [77] Soto was also revealed to be the leader of the La Empresa cartel at the time of his arrest, and that his successor was identified as "The Gnome. The states of Jurez and Chihuahua in Mexico; El Paso, Texas; Massachusetts; Pennsylvania; possibly New Mexico. A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. 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. [56][61] This attack came just a week before several gunmen stormed two houses, killing 7 at a party and 2 at a nearby house. 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. Get fresh updates on organized crime from across the region delivered to your inbox. 10 facts about the Barrio Azteca, one of the most dangerous - mySA Barrio Azteca Leader Sentenced To Life In Prison The gang is highly structured and has an estimated membership of 2,000. In total, the gang had an estimated 5,000 members in Juarez and 3,000 in the United States in 2013, Insight Crime reported. "Negotiating Violence and Protection in Prison and on the Outside: The Organizational Evolution of the Transnational Prison Gang Barrio Azteca." [12] Some undocumented Mexicans arrested in the United States are imprisoned in Texan prisons and consequently join Barrio Azteca. The group also helped the Jurez Cartel to move people and drugs as well as to acquire weapons and vehicles. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. RELATED:Why 'El Chapo's' beauty queen wife says she is 'afraid for his life'. 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. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of Barrio Azteca leader Eduardo Ravelo, who has a place on the FBI's " Top Ten Most Wanted List ." InSight Crime Analysis 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. could move into full-blown international drug trafficking, Colombias Coca Market Crash Unlikely to Impact Cocaine Trade, Cocaine and Marijuana Fuel Ever-Higher Homicides in Costa Rica, Corruption Takes Center Stage in Paraguay Presidential Election, In Lara, Venezuela, Criminal 'Colectivos' Control Public Services, Across the Americas, Governments Aim to Rein in Flow of Guns, The Fraudsters: Venezuelas Organized Crime Vultures, US Sanctions Reveal CJNGs Grip on Mexico Port To Move Fentanyl, GameChangers 2022: How the Chapitos Became Hyper-Capitalist Narcos, Bomb Threats: Mexico's Crime Groups Turn to Explosives, InSight Crime Staff Cited as Experts by International Media, Media Looks to InSight Crime for Ecuador Knowledge, The Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory Continues to Be a Benchmark in the Region, UN Draws Heavily on InSight Crime Coverage for its Global Report on Cocaine 2023. Galindo was one of the ranking members of the BA who would receive laundered funds and disperse it within the Texas State prison system to further the criminal goals of the enterprise. [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. 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. 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. The Barrio Azteca prison gang - which has chapters in El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico - has historically been linked to the Juarez Cartel. 10 were here. [15], Eduardo Ravelo, the current leader of the Barrio Azteca, began his criminal career in the year 2003, amassing a list of charges for racketeering and numerous conspiracy charges with the intent to distribute narcotics. The gangs alleged leader Eduardo Ravela is on the FBIs Top Ten most wanted list. > A hands-on and results-driven People & Culture leader with more than 17 years' experience working closely with CEOs and senior leaders to deliver innovative HR programs that generate tangible business outcomes. 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. [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. FBI New Top Ten - Barrio Azteca Leader 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. [72] In November 2019, three members of La Empresa were arrested. Please support our mission investigating organized crime. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. 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. In 2011, the FBI reported that Barrio Azteca also had members in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. [18], According to reports of U.S. authorities, Ravelo was born in Mexico but has permanent residence in the United States. Joshua Fechter is a reporter covering City Hall and San Antonio politics for the Express-News. A murder in Texas drives a huge investigation which often leads to an arrest. [18] When drug loads go missing while being smuggled, suspects are kidnapped and taken to Ciudad Jurez. A locked padlock 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 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. By 2013, it reportedly had up to 5,000 in the Jurez area alone and an estimated 3,000 in the United States. [40] A gang leader of Barrio Azteca also admitted to have ordered the massacre because he thought rival gang members were there. Of the 35 defendants charged, 33 have been apprehended, including April Cardoza, who was found in Juarez, Mexico, last week. Silome dienos p [64], The gang also utilized a sophisticated communication network where they utilize coded letters, contraband cell phones that are smuggled into prison cells, and distribution of membership roster and hit-lists. The case was investigated by the FBIs El Paso Field Office, Albuquerque Field Office (Las Cruces Resident Agency), DEA Juarez and DEA El Paso. Scroll through the slideshow for 10 things you need to know about the Barrio Azteca gang. 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. Vilnius. [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. 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. 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. The gang's control over Jurez puts it in a position to move into major transnational drug trafficking. [12] But in Ciudad Jurez, it is one of the more than ten corpses found dead on a daily basis. [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. Boozy Hill Country golf course tees off in New Braunfels, What to know about the invasive hammerhead flatworms in Texas, Cardi B speaks out on viral 'mean girls' TikTok at Astros game. They were sentenced yesterday in the Western District of Texas. [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. [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. Eduardo "Richolm" Ravelo (born October 13, 1968) is a Mexican American gangster who was a leader of the Barrio Azteca gang. 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. According to the US Department of Justice, Barrio Azteca profits by moving heroin, cocaine and marijuana across the border. 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. According to court documents and information presented in court throughout this case, the Barrio Azteca is a violent street and prison gang that began in the late 1980s and expanded into a transnational criminal organization. The group has control over other local gangs, has members across the border, and already moves drug shipments across the border. Initially formed in El Paso jails in 1986, the Barrio Azteca gang expanded to a transnational criminal organization, allying itself with the Juarez Cartel (pictured). The gang expanded after 1996, due in part to increasing deportations of imprisoned Mexican criminals by the United States. [50] According to Reuters, the killings was an ongoing effort by Barrio Azteca to take control of the El PasoJurez drug trafficking corridor. "[75] In addition to being the leader of this Barrio Azteca fraction, Mendoza was also target No. Knocking Down Barrio Azteca | Police Magazine [27] Witnesses said that the cartel members arrived at the crime scene in seven cars with tinted windows, closed down the street and blocked the exits. Diplomatic Security Service; the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; El Paso Police Department; El Paso County Sheriffs Office; El Paso Independent School District Police Department; Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission; New Mexico State Police; Dona Ana County, N.M., Sheriffs Office; Las Cruces, N.M., Police Department; Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility and Otero County Prison Facility New Mexico. 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. [20] One report issued by Los Angeles Times stated that members of Barrio Azteca stole the keys of a prison guard and were able to free their cohorts and begin a rampage in cells controlled by their rival groups. 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 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. Galindo, Gonzales and Garcia were charged in a 12-count third superseding indictment unsealed in March 2011. According to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Barrio Azteca also has members in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and Texas authorities have reported a Barrio Azteca presence in New Mexico. [34][36] The parents of the victims hung huge placards outside their houses accusing Caldern of failing to solve the massacre and explicitly saying that "until those responsible are found, [he was] the murderer. Drug distribution is believed to represent over half of the gang's revenue. [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. [19] It took the guards, police, and Mexican military more than three hours to put down the unrest inside the prison. According to evidence presented in court, witnesses testified to the brutality of the BA. Upon graduating from Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin in 2014, Joshua joined the Express-News in 2014 as a breaking news reporter. 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. [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. He is also a former fugitive wanted on several charges related to drugs and organized crime. The federal agency is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to his capture. The shootings took place in different locations, and it was the "first deadly attack" against U.S. officials and their families from the Mexican criminal organizations. Those not in good standing were targeted by the BA for assault or murder. They often use the letters "BA" or numbers "21" as their identifying symbols and tattoos. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Galindo was one of the ranking members of the BA who would receive laundered funds and disperse it within the Texas State prison system to further the criminal goals of the enterprise. Their leader is one of the FBI's 10 most wanted criminals. [33] The governor of the state of Chihuahua, Jos Reyes Baeza Terrazas, showed up at the funeral unexpectedly to pay his respects to the families. [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. 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. 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. dollars. [3] The gang was formed in the jails of El Paso in 1986 and expanded into a transnational criminal organization. Our prosecution of the Barrio Azteca gang, including for the U.S. Consulate-related murders in Juarez, Mexico, in 2010, has led to convictions against 24 gang members and leaders. [6] The DEA estimates that about 70% of the cocaine to enter the United States does so through the area. [32], One by one, the coffins of the victims were carried out from their homes on 4 February 2010, as their families demanded for justice. Barrio Azteca, a prison gang born in the Texas jail system, is becoming a major player in the Mexican underworld and the "X-factor" in the battle for Ciudad Juarez, Mexican officials told InSight Crime. [28] Then they stormed the party and opened fire at the victims as they were watching a soccer game. "[26] Their reports state that the inmates had broken the rules of the jail and held large parties, possibly with the guards' permission. 2019. [68] Barrio Azteca has also authorized the killings of U.S. law enforcement officials for cracking down their criminal operations, offering up to $200,000 U.S. 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). 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 boss' criminal career began in 2003, with the man eventually collecting a long list of charges both for traffic of narcotics and violent activities. 10 facts about the Barrio Azteca, one of the most dangerous gangs in Texas, Mark Lambie/AP Photo/El Paso Times, Mark Lambie. Barrio Azteca gang member gave bone-chilling testimony Monday about his role in the violence that ignited Jurez 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. 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. 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). Barrio Azteca Gang Poised for Leap into International Drug Trade Tango Blast, Aryan Brotherhood and Aryan Circle are the most active prison gangs in the region. 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 group members face charges including drug trafficking and distribution, extortion, money laundering and murder. [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.
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