Trial Exposes Odd Ties in Mexico Drug War
Saturday, January 7, 2012 | Borderland Beat Reporter Chivis
The upcoming Chicago trial of the son of one of Mexico's top drug lords has broken all the rules. This time, Jesús Zambada Niebla is going mano a mano with U.S. prosecutors, with both sides trading allegations that have raised eyebrows across the U.S.-Mexico borderIn pre-trial motions, Mr. Zambada alleges the U.S. government lets the Sinaloa cartel, Mexico's most powerful criminal organization, to import tons of illegal drugs into the U.S. in exchange for information on other cartels.
Mr. Zambada, 36 years old, is no ordinary accuser: He is the son of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the co-head of the Sinaloa cartel alongside Mexico's most famous trafficker, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán.
Mr. Zambada doesn't deny drug trafficking. Rather, he says he did so with the permission of U.S. drug-enforcement agents and was promised immunity as part of an agreement with the U.S. government.
In Chicago, where in 2009 he was again indicted for drug trafficking after his extradition to the U.S., Mr. Zambada is also accused of trying to obtain rocket-propelled grenade launchers and bazookas, which U.S. officials allege were to be used on attacks on U.S. and Mexican government installations. "I want to blow things up," Mr. Zambada said, according to testimony in a court filling from another confidential informant.
Meth Bust Involving Members of La Familia
| Borderland Beat Reporter Buggs
Feds Announce (Another) Local Meth Bust Involving Members of La Familia Drug Cartel.
By Robert Wilonsky
Dallas Observer
In October of 2009, James Capra, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Dallas Division, invited media to a press conference so he could show off the massive haul from a long-in-the-works bust involving the Mexican drug cartel known as La Familia: 220 pounds of methamphetamine, 4.5 kilos of cocaine, $660,000 in cash and dozens of machine guns.
The feds and other law-enforcement officials said they'd nabbed some 1,100 people around the country during an operation known as Project Coronado; 84 of them were taken into custody in and around Dallas, a major distribution hub for drugs brought in from Mexico -- Michoacan, specifically, La Familia's home base. Six months later, Ricardo Hernandez-Cruz, a.k.a "Rica," a 37-year-old who handled the merch, pleaded guilty to meth trafficking.
A Dallas federal grand jury this week indicted 16 more members of La Familia, all of whom were arrested December 14 in Tyler and Dallas. Some were nabbed in rural Tyler, at the so-called "ranch" of Sergio Renteria Echeverria, otherwise known as "Trippa," the 30-year-old who Capra and U.S. Attorney Sarah Saldaña say is the "cell-head" who "concealed large amounts of drugs" on the premises. They also say he maintains another residence in Richardson, on Midway Drive, which the feds will seize if he's convicted.
News and commentary about the Texas criminal justice system, Texas true crime stories, infamous crimes.
Popular Posts
-
I don't know anything about the most recent murder case (or one of the two most recent cases) in Kerrville. The Hill Country Community ...
-
Court of Inquiry To Be Held On Morton Wrongful Conviction Judge Sid Harle signed a probable cause affidavit today that will now go to the...
-
The headline: "Man Pleads Guilty to Biting Officer After Twins Tussle With Police." This is almost a Keystone Kops story, excep...
-
Drug Trafficker sold out Laredo Lawyer From San Antonio Express-News A Laredo lawyer who pleaded guilty last week to a racketeering charg...
-
It is fascinating to see how people in Kerrville have reacted to the Gary and Peggy Stork murder-suicide (??) case. It seems that a substan...
-
A lawyer named Mark Clark from New Braunfels is (was?) out on bond after his conviction for sexually molesting a young girl. From the San A...
-
Gary Stork was under investigation for sexual contact with a minor alleged to have occurred over the July 4 weekend. Police began thei...
-
News media are reporting that s hortly before he was shot to death by a troubled former Marine at a Texas gun range, legendary Navy SEAL s...
-
Lawyer sent to prison for Bexar billing scheme San Antonio Express SAN ANTONIO — Former defense attorney Hilda Valadez, who pleaded guilt...
-
National Inventory of the Collateral Consequences of Conviction , or how a minor drug offense can ruin your life. Collateral consequences ...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
One must wonder where Mike Chapman gets his info.
ReplyDelete