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[62], In June 2020, it was reported that La Lnea was the Jurez Cartel's most powerful fraction in Ciudad Jurez. [71] On November 7, 2018, Rene Gerardo Santana Garza, known as "El 300," was arrested in Chihuahua City. 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. [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. [9] The gang's primary source of income derives from smuggling drugs across the border from Mexico to the United States. [25], Gunmen burst into a party in a small working-class neighborhood known as Villas de Salvrcar in Ciudad Jurez, killing 16 teenagers on 31 January 2010. [17] In El Paso Ravelo's gang is known as Barrio Azteca, a gang originally morphed from the so-called Mexican Mafia prison gang. The gang expanded after 1996, due in part to increasing deportations of imprisoned Mexican criminals by the United States. Some are shot dead, while others are tortured and then shot. [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. Special assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the U.S. Some, however, are beheaded. Restoranas "El Barrio" | Vilnius - Facebook [63] In and outside of prison, from gang beatings to drive-by shootings, Barrio Azteca disciplines its own members and rivals. 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. [68] Ciudad Jurez is filled with safe houses, armories and garages with stolen cars for the cartel members and assassins to use. The mastermind behind the murders, Arturo Gallegos Castrellon, received a life sentence in April 2014. Testimony also indicated that the BA is well-organized and militaristic in structure. 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. The gang's control over Jurez puts it in a position to move into major transnational drug trafficking. 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. 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. [12] The Barrio Azteca has long sold drugs moved by the Jurez Cartel. 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. Specifically, he was the El Paso BA leader in 2010 until he was arrested on drug charges on April 30, 2010. In 2011, the FBI reported that Barrio Azteca also had members in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. [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. Eduardo "Richolm" Ravelo (born October 13, 1968) is a Mexican American gangster who was a leader of the Barrio Azteca gang. [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. Many of the members are in U.S. and Mexican prisons and. The DPS projects Bandidos members will attempt to change their public perception by adding new members with clean criminal backgrounds and organizing charity events. [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. [34] Caldern has met with young people and representatives of the federal program to discuss and analyze the city's achievements. 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. 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. "[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. 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. [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. [52] Reportedly, the gang leaders wanted the guard dead for mistreating members of the gang in jail. [12] But in Ciudad Jurez, it is one of the more than ten corpses found dead on a daily basis. By the early 2000s, the gang controlled prisons in Chihuahua, and has since continued to grow. [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 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 then verify, write and edit, providing the tools to generate real impact. [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. They often use the letters "BA" or numbers "21" as their identifying symbols and tattoos. Barrio Azteca - InSight Crime "I never even gave the United States much thought," said one of the family members, "But Mexico has abandoned us, betrayed us. [37] It has fed up $400 million to repair the city's social fabric. Ravelo, who was under pressure from La Linea . [48] This was not solely a response for the incident in Ciudad Jurez, but because of the drug-related violence along the border. 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 members face charges including drug trafficking and distribution, extortion, money laundering and murder. [30] Videos from the crime scene depict a sparsely furnished home with large puddles of blood and taints smeared on the walls; in addition, more than 100 AK-47 bullet casings were found at the crime scene. 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. [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. Their leader is one of the FBI's 10 most wanted criminals. [17] The informant said that Ravelo was taken to a house in El Paso where a gang member was being held, his mouth, wrists, and ankles bound with duct tape. Bruno Angel Rangel, 38, allegedly was a former high-ranking Barrio Azteca leader who allied himself with La Linea in the current conflict between the crime organizations, police said. [54] With his arrest, all 35 suspects named by the U.S. Justice Department in 2011 for involvement in the consulate killings had been captured. Then they light the whole thing on fire. Our work is costly and high risk. U.S. Government Punishes Drug Cartel For Triple Murder > 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. By 2013, it reportedly had up to 5,000 in the Jurez area alone and an estimated 3,000 in the United States. "[78] The Gnome retaliated to the arrests of not only Soto, but also two other high ranking La Empresa leaders "Uncle" and "Goofy" with attacks on police officers. 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. 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. [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. [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. On June 26, members of the Mexican army and a special investigative unit arrested Eduardo . Special assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the U.S. 10 facts about the Barrio Azteca, one of the most dangerous gangs in Texas, Mark Lambie/AP Photo/El Paso Times, Mark Lambie. Is the Stanley Quencher tumbler worth its TikTok hype? A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. [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. [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. 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. [3] The gang was formed in the jails of El Paso in 1986 and expanded into a transnational criminal organization. [24] Following their exit, the two men open a different door and allowed four other accomplices into the hallway, some of them who were carrying assault rifles. 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). 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 Aztecaknown as BAis an extremely violent gang, with as many as 3,500 members on the street and in jail, both in El Paso and across the Rio Grande in Juarez, Mexico. Below them, captains control mini-plazas that are run by lieutenants. 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. Some murders are carried out to intimidate and as retaliation attacks. [18], According to reports of U.S. authorities, Ravelo was born in Mexico but has permanent residence in the United States. 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.. [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. [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. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( [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.