Drug lord’s son-in-law pleads guilty in border price-fixing scheme

Prosecutors alleged the eleven-year strategy started successful 2011 and progressive fixing prices of forwarding bureau services operating successful Los Indios, Texas, astir 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Brownsville.

The larboard of introduction is utilized by thousands of migrants each twelvemonth who bargain utilized vehicles successful the US and thrust them backmost to Central America done the US-Mexico border. The indictment and tribunal grounds highlighted beatings, kidnappings and fatal shootings that were portion of the conspiracy betwixt the defendants who utilized brutal unit against respective radical who charged little for their services oregon who were noncompliant with the extortion tax.

Martinez’s narration to Osiel Cárdenas Guillén was discussed during a detention proceeding held successful July 2023 erstwhile a national cause said Martinez spoke of his relationships crossed the borderline successful Matamoros and Reynosa during a kidnapping.

The cause said Martinez joined the girl of the cause lord, Guillén, a 57-year-old autochthonal of the borderline metropolis of Matamoros, Mexico, who started a convulsive marque of cartel unit done the enactment of the Zetas. On Thursday, Martinez entered a blameworthy plea arsenic archetypal reported by section media. The plea statement outlined an 11-year imprisonment term, though a sentencing proceeding is scheduled successful May.

“After 2 years of litigation we were capable to get astatine a communal statement that calls for a condemnation of eleven years,” Kent A. Schaffer, an lawyer representing Martinez, said successful a connection provided to The Associated Press. “Mr. Martinez has been incarcerated since his apprehension implicit 2 years agone and sees this solution arsenic 1 that volition get him backmost location arsenic soon arsenic possible.”

Martinez’s father-in-law was precocious sent backmost to Mexico aft serving a information of his condemnation successful the US The erstwhile cause lord is facing drug, organized transgression and money-laundering charges successful Mexico.