- Title: VARIOUS: Mexican gang members charged in US consulate murders
- Date: 10th March 2011
- Summary: CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO (MARCH 13, 2010) (REUTERS) LAW ENFORCEMENT LEADING BARRIO AZTECA MEMBER ARTURO GALLEGOS IN HANDCUFFS AND SHACKLES LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER GALLEGOS
- Embargoed: 25th March 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Mexico, Usa
- City:
- Country: USA
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA9TFCN8HNFGG1VL51QA55ND8QO
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Ten alleged members of the Barrio Azteca gang charged in the murder of two Americans and a Mexican man in Ciudad Juarez in 2010.
Ten members of the Mexican Barrio Azteca gang have been charged in the murder of a U.S. consulate employee, the U.S.'s top law enforcement official said on Wednesday (March 9).
At a press conference in Washington, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters that thirty-five Barrio Azteca members and associates have been charged with various counts of racketeering, murder, drug trafficking, money laundering and obstruction of justice, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters at a press conference in Washington.
He also said twelve of the defendants were arrested in New Mexico and Texas on Wednesday. He added the gang has been operating in western Texas and Juarez, Mexico as well as prisons in both countries since the late 1980s and has since expanded to become a transnational criminal organization.
U.S. Consulate employee Leslie Ann Enriquez Canton and her American husband Arthur Redelfs were gunned down in broad daylight on March 13, 2010, as they left an event sponsored by the consulate, which is located just across the border from El Paso, Texas.
The suspects were also accused of murdering a Mexican man, Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, who was married to another consulate employee, around the same time in another part of the city.
Arturo Gallegos, a leader in Barrio Azteca was arrested last year and confessed to order many of the killings in Juarez.
The motive for the murders was not described in the indictment.
"One looks at the brutality of these crimes and the motive, in some ways, is almost irrelevant. The fact of these murders, the way in which they were conducted, I think, is the thing we should be focusing on," Holder said.
Seven of the 10 defendants charged with the murders are in custody in Mexico, and the United States is working with Mexican authorities to extradite them for prosecution, the Justice Department said.
Arturo Gallegos, a leader in Barrio Azteca was arrested last year and has confessed to ordering many of the killings in Juarez.
"It is also my hope that today's arrest will weaken the structure of this barbaric group which has show complete disregard for human life," Sean Henry, an assistant director at the FBI said.
Henry also held up a photo of Eduardo Ravelo, a suspected Barrio Azteca captain. Ravelo is on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Henry said the FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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