A Barrio Azteca (BA) gang lieutenant was sentenced on July
20, to life in prison today for his participation in a racketeering and drug
trafficking conspiracy.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the
Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Richard L. Durbin Jr. of
the Western District of Texas; Special Agent in Charge Douglas Lindquist of the
FBI’s El Paso, Texas, Office; and Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy of the
Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) El Paso Division made the announcement.
Ricardo Valles De La Rosa (Valles), aka Chino, 52, of El
Paso, pleaded guilty on January 13, before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone
of the Western District of Texas to racketeering conspiracy; conspiracy to
distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances;
conspiracy to import heroin, cocaine and marijuana; and conspiracy to commit
money laundering. As part of his plea, Valles agreed that he conspired to
commit murder in a foreign country. Valles is one of 35 members and associates
of the BA gang charged in a third superseding indictment unsealed in March
2011, with various counts of racketeering, murder, drug offenses, money
laundering and obstruction of justice.
As alleged in the indictment, members and associates of the
BA have engaged in a host of criminal activity, ranging from drug trafficking,
extortion and money laundering to kidnapping and homicides, including the March
13, 2010, murders in Juarez of a U.S. consulate employee and her husband, as
well as the husband of another U.S. consulate employee. These individuals were
killed by the BA because they were mistakenly believed to be rivals associated
with the Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Drug Trafficking Organization.
In connection with his plea, the defendant admitted that the
BA gang is a paramilitary gang with members in West Texas and Juarez, Mexico,
that operates both inside and outside the prison system, and engages in drug
trafficking, money laundering, extortion, intimidation, violence, threats of
violence and murder. In addition to profiting from drug importation and
distribution, the gang also profits through the collection of a “street tax” or
“cuota” through extortion from individuals engaged in both legal and illegal
activities in the gang’s territory.
According to further admissions made in connection with his
plea agreement, beginning in or around 1995, Valles became an associate of the
BA while imprisoned at a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facility, where he rose to the
rank of sergeant. Following his release from the BOP facility and deportation
to Juarez, in July 2007, Valles was promoted to lieutenant and placed in charge
of prostitution and illegal after-hours alcohol sales in downtown Juarez, and
also collected “cuota.” Additionally,
Valles maintained contact on behalf of the BA with a Mexican law enforcement
entity, and would use that contact to obtain information regarding the arrests
of BA members, the activities and locations of rival gang members and the
results of hits carried out by the BA. Further, Valles maintained rosters of BA
members in Juarez and was in charge of conducting daily roll-calls, as well as
maintaining communications between the BA in Juarez and BA members who were in
and out of prison in the U.S.
In addition, Valles admitted that on March 13, 2010, upon
instructions from a high-ranking BA member, Valles obtained the location of a
specific vehicle and sent BA members to that location. Valles admitted that he
was aware that he was assisting the other BA members to locate and commit
crimes against the occupants of the vehicle, including murder. BA members
subsequently located the vehicle and killed the driver, who was the husband of
a U.S. Consulate employee.
The defendant was sentenced to life in prison on each of
counts one through three, and to 240 months in prison on count four, all to run
concurrently. The defendant was also sentenced to five years of supervised release
on counts one through three, and three years of supervised release on count
four.
Of the 35 defendants charged in this case, 33 have been
apprehended, 25 of whom have pleaded guilty, one committed suicide while
imprisoned during his trial and one was found guilty at trial. Most recently,
Valles, Luis Hernandez Celis, aka Pac, and Alberto Nunez Payan, aka Fresa, were
extradited from Mexico in October 2015.
The FBI’s El Paso Field Office, Albuquerque Field Office
(Las Cruces Resident Agency); DEA Juarez; and DEA El Paso investigated the
case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Customs and Border
Protection; Federal Bureau of Prisons; U.S. Diplomatic Security Service; Texas
Department of Public Safety; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; El Paso
Police Department; El Paso County Sheriff’s Office; El Paso Independent School
District Police Department; Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission; New Mexico
State Police; Dona Ana County, New Mexico, Sheriff’s Office; Las Cruces, New
Mexico, Police Department; Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility; and Otero
County Prison Facility New Mexico provided substantial assistance in the
investigation.
Trial Attorneys Joseph A. Cooley and John C. Hanley of the
Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, Trial Attorney Jay A.
Bauer of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section,
and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gibson of the Western District of Texas-El
Paso Division are prosecuting the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of
International Affairs and Office of Enforcement Operations provided valuable
assistance in this matter.
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