{"id":26870,"date":"2016-09-29T17:26:10","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T00:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=26870"},"modified":"2016-09-29T17:26:10","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T00:26:10","slug":"barrio-azteca-gang-associate-sentenced-to-20-years-in-prison-for-drug-trafficking-and-other-crimes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=26870","title":{"rendered":"Barrio Azteca Gang Associate Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking and other Crimes"},"content":{"rendered":"

EL PASO, TEXAS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A federal judge Thursday sentenced\u00a0Luis Humberto Hernandez Celis, aka Pac, 32, of El Paso, to 20 years in prison for his involvement in several crimes including drug trafficking, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Luis
Luis Humberto Hernandez Celis, aka Pac, 32, of El Paso<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of the 35 defendants charged including Hernandez Celis, 33 have been apprehended, of whom 25 have pleaded guilty, one has been convicted at trial and one committed suicide while imprisoned during his trial, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Hernandez Celis\u2019s plea agreement, he admitted that gang members and associates also charged a “street tax” or “cuota” on businesses and criminals operating on their turf.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These profits are used to support gang members in prison by funneling money into prison commissary accounts of gang leaders and to pay for defense lawyers or fines, and are allegedly reinvested into the organization to purchase drugs, guns and ammunition, officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beginning in or around 2009, Hernandez Celis admitted to being an associate of Barrio Azteca, during which time he used violence or threats of violence to advance BA criminal activities, including stealing cars, managing drug distribution points and collecting cuotas<\/em> for a Barrio Azteca leader in Juarez, Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone sentenced Hernandez Celis for racketeering conspiracy; conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances; and conspiracy to import heroin, cocaine and marijuana.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"BarrioAccording to court documents and information presented in court throughout this case, the BA gang began operating in the late 1980s as a violent prison gang and has expanded into a transnational criminal organization based in West Texas; Juarez, Mexico; and throughout state and federal prisons in the United States and Mexico.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

The gang relies on a militaristic command structure that includes \u201ccaptains,\u201d \u201clieutenants,\u201d \u201csergeants\u201d and \u201csoldiers\u201d to maintain power and enriches members and associates through drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion, intimidation, violence, threats of violence and murder.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to court documents, since Jan. 1, 2003, members and associates of the BA have engaged in a host of such criminal activity, including the March 13, 2010, murders in Juarez of U.S. consulate employee Leslie Ann Enriquez Catton, her husband Arthur Redelfs and Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, the husband of a U.S. consulate employee.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to admissions made in connection with Hernandez Celis\u2019s plea agreement, Barrio Azteca generates profits by importing heroin, cocaine and marijuana into the United States from Mexico.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Hernandez Celis admitted that gang members and associates also allegedly charge a \u201cstreet tax\u201d or \u201ccuota\u201d on businesses and criminals operating on their turf.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"U.S.These profits are used to support gang members in prison by funneling money into prison commissary accounts of gang leaders and to pay for defense lawyers or fines, and are allegedly reinvested into the organization to purchase drugs, guns and ammunition, according to authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beginning in or around 2009, Hernandez Celis was an associate of the BA, during which time he used violence or threats of violence to advance BA criminal activities, including stealing cars, managing drug distribution points and collecting cuotas for a BA leader in Juarez, he admitted.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hernandez Celis was among three defendants, including Ricardo Valles De La Rosa, aka Chino, and Alberto Nunez Payan, aka Fresa, recently extradited from Mexico. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Three other defendants are pending extradition from Mexico.\u00a0 U.S. and Mexican law enforcement are actively seeking to apprehend the two remaining fugitives in this case: Luis Mendez and Eduardo Ravelo, an FBI Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitive.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EL PASO, TEXAS A federal judge Thursday sentenced\u00a0Luis Humberto Hernandez Celis, aka Pac, 32, of El Paso, to 20 years in prison for his involvement in several crimes including drug trafficking, according…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,16,3],"tags":[3043,1218],"class_list":["post-26870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fbi","category-home-main-slider","category-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-barrio-azteca-gang","tag-drug-trafficking"],"yoast_head":"\nBarrio Azteca Gang Associate Sentenced to 20 Years for Drug Trafficking<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A federal judge Thursday sentenced Luis Humberto Hernandez Celis, aka Pac, 32, of El Paso, to 20 years in prison for his involvement in several crimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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