This is a carousel. [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. Tango Blast, Aryan Brotherhood and Aryan Circle are the most active prison gangs in the region. 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. They were sentenced yesterday in the Western District of Texas. [74], In January 2020, Juarez police arrested the leader of the group's "Old Guard" fraction, Jesus Alfredo Martinez Mendoza, alias "El Freddy or El Ferro. [20] This massacre had come after a rare experience of 24 hours without any drug-related assassinations in Ciudad Jurez and after a large military buildup during that weekend. On October 20, 2009, he was named by the FBI as the 493rd fugitive to be placed on the Ten Most Wanted list. An official website of the United States government. 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. Galindo, Gonzales and Garcia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit (RICO) on Jan. 26, 2012, Jan. 18, 2012, and Jan. 29, 2012, respectively. The organization, also known as Los Barrios, derives some of its strength through alliances with Mexican drug cartels. The gang is highly structured and has an estimated membership of 2,000. In Ciudad Jurez, however, the gang is known as Los Aztecas. [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. March 16, 2010. "[26] Their reports state that the inmates had broken the rules of the jail and held large parties, possibly with the guards' permission. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS [20] [50] According to Reuters, the killings was an ongoing effort by Barrio Azteca to take control of the El PasoJurez drug trafficking corridor. Eduardo "Richolm" Ravelo (born October 13, 1968) is a Mexican American gangster who was a leader of the Barrio Azteca gang. 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. Witnesses also testified that the sale of illegal drugs is the life-blood of the BA. [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. 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. "[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. [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. The Barrio Azteca is one of the most violent prison gangs operating. The Barrio Azteca came out of Texas prisons but has since formalized its structure to become a drug trafficking cartel. The gangs alleged leader Eduardo Ravela is on the FBIs Top Ten most wanted list. Alongside Los Mexicles were the Artistas Asesinos, a rival gang and an enforcer group of the Sinaloa cartel. [7], The gang, which operates in the U.S. and Mexico, has morphed into a prime example of the "cross-border nature of Mexico's drug war. [28] Then they stormed the party and opened fire at the victims as they were watching a soccer game. 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. "[67], Gang members in the organizations refer to each other as "carnal," a slang term for brother. "[33], 2010 was the most violent year in the history of Ciudad Jurez, where more than 3,000 people were killed. By the early 2000s, the gang controlled prisons in Chihuahua, and has since continued to grow. [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. Not all the killings carried about by Ravelo's gang are a result of drug disputes. An alleged leader of the Barrio Azteca (BA), a transnational border gang allied with the Juarez Cartel, was extradited from Mexico to the United States to face charges related to the March 2010 U.S. Consulate murders in Juarez, Mexico, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman for the Western District of Texas, FBI . [1] 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. [59] The Mexican police declined to comment if the killing was drug-related, but Felipe Caldern's response was remarkably different from the Villas de Salvrcar massacre, where he claimed that the massacre was most likely due to internal adjustments between the cartels. [21] The exact reasons for the massacre are unknown, but the feud between Barrio Azteca and Artistas Asesinos runs deep, and they often fight for the control of drugs, guns, and other illicit contrabands inside prisons. [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. 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. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( 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. [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. [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. On June 26, members of the Mexican army and a special investigative unit arrested Eduardo . Tango Blast, Texas Syndicate, Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples and MS-13 all were identified as active in human smuggling operations in 2014. Evidence was presented that Gonzales and Garcia were BA soldiers, whose duties included distributing drugs, picking up money from dealers and enforcement operations within their area of responsibility. Get fresh updates on organized crime from across the region delivered to your inbox. [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 emerged in Texas prisons, later served as armed support to the Jurez Cartel, and has since evolved to control local drug trafficking in Jurez. Tango Blast cliques along the Rio Grande Valley and in Corpus Christi are the region's major players, along with Texas Syndicate and Texas Mexican Mafia. Currently one of the most violent gangs in the United States, they are said to have over 3,000 . 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. Ravelo, who was under pressure from La Linea . In total, the gang had an estimated 5,000 members in Juarez and 3,000 in the United States in 2013, Insight Crime reported. [73] On March 5, 2020, 9 suspected La Empresa members were arrested. 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. [49] Gallegos targeted the American officials because he believed they had given visas to members of a rival gang, although some say it was a case of mistaken identity. [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. 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. [69], On June 26, 2018, Barrio Azteca Capo Eduardo "Tablas" Ravelo was arrested. 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. [6] The DEA estimates that about 70% of the cocaine to enter the United States does so through the area. Mexico Rehab Center Massacre Tied to Conflict Over Local Drug Trade A murder in Texas drives a huge investigation which often leads to an arrest. [68] They work day in and day out, often with a list of people to kill. Special assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the U.S. WASHINGTONA leader and two soldiers in the Barrio Azteca (BA)a transnational border gang allied with the Juarez Cartelwere sentenced in El Paso, Texas, to life, 30, and 20 years in prison,. 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. [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. However, the 2018 arrest of Ravelo, the gang's reputed top leader, suggests authorities are aware of the threat posed by the group and are working to confront it. 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. [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. [53], On March 9, 2020, Mexican police arrested Luis El Tio (The Uncle) Gerrado Mendez, a former member of Barrio Azteca who later became the reputed founder of La Empresa (The Company), for his connection to the consulate murders as well. Den Held discussed gang dynamics in Medelln, Colombia, and approaches used by, Our extensive coverage of criminal activity in the border areas between Venezuela and Colombia has been referenced in areportby the Colombia-Venezuela RADAR project of the Konrad, InSight Crimes continued coverage of cocaine production and trafficking made a significant impact on the newly released UNGlobal Report on Cocaine 2023, with our work cited. 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). Main tasks to coordinate the process of employees accommodation and logistics. According to court documents and information presented in court, Galindo was a top Lieutenant in the BA. [21] Back in 2005, the Barrio Azteca gang had carried out a murderous attack against members of Los Mexicles inside the same prison, leaving six dead. [18], A fierce battle between rival drug trafficking organizations broke loose inside a prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Jurez on 5 March 2009. "I never even gave the United States much thought," said one of the family members, "But Mexico has abandoned us, betrayed us. The states of Jurez and Chihuahua in Mexico; El Paso, Texas; Massachusetts; Pennsylvania; possibly New Mexico. Evidence was presented that Gonzales and Garcia were BA soldiers, whose duties included distributing drugs, picking up money from dealers and enforcement operations within their area of responsibility. "Negotiating Violence and Protection in Prison and on the Outside: The Organizational Evolution of the Transnational Prison Gang Barrio Azteca." [68] Ciudad Jurez is filled with safe houses, armories and garages with stolen cars for the cartel members and assassins to use. Hector Galindo, 38, aka Silent, of El Paso, currently serving a 25-year Texas state sentence for murder, was sentenced to life prison. None of the threats were materialized, however. [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. According to US estimates, it had around 3,500 members in 2011. When they are absolved from their sentences, they are sent back across the border into Mexico, where they quickly join the gang's ranks and carry out a number of crimes. 3 Five things to know about the return of Barrio Azteca as top gang threat; 4 Negotiating Violence and Protection in Prison and on the Outside; 5 Ink in the Clink: Prison tattoos explained | Truecrimedaily.com; 6 Reputed Barrio Azteca 'Old Guard' gang leader on wanted list arrested; 7 El Paso Intelligence Center: Mexican U.S. Consulate . The most extensive database on organized crime in the Americas. According to evidence presented in court, witnesses testified to the brutality of the BA. These prison sentences send a strong message that even the most powerful and ruthless gangs cannot evade justice. Those not in good standing were targeted by the BA for assault or murder.
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