We are satisfied that any error in the district court's instruction was not plain error because Garcia Abrego has demonstrated no prejudicial impact, and thus no detrimental effect on his substantial rights. Additionally, Rivas testified that Medrano informed him of the seizure of cocaine at the Arrowrock residence. Juan Garca Abrego fue el jefe del Crtel del Golfo, organizacin criminal que tuvo nexos con las mafias italianas y que en la dcada de 1990 fue una de los tres crteles principales que operaban entre Mxico y Estados Unidos para el trasiego de droga.. Garca Abrego vivi su niez al sur de Texas, pero el narco siempre dijo que era ciudadano mexicano. You definitely have a future in journalism if you decided to do so professionally. 23. family's business dealings," he said. at 182 n. 3, 111 S.Ct. Dear Netflix, there is no way in hell this is Matamoros (the scene is too pretty), the restaurant was Piedras Negras, not Restaurante Matamoros and there is no Sheriff de Brownsville #NarcosMexico2 . 19. Yolanda Figueroa, the author of a recent book alleging that Mexican government corruption delayed a top drug lords arrest, was found beaten to death Thursday in her home along with her husband and her three children, ages 9 to 18, in one of Mexico Citys most exclusive neighborhoods. According to de la Rosa, Fernando Balderas became a We address each of these arguments in turn. Horace Vega testified that Medrano told him that the group wished to have Lopez Olivares killed because he threatened to expose high-level members of the group to the U.S. media. Vida y captura de Juan Garca Abrego. See id. A defendant's waiver of his Miranda rights is only effective if the waiver is knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily made. He had control of the gulf Cartel, no problems like today. Insufficient evidence supported Garcia Abrego's conviction of conducting a CCE. All of this evidence provided ample basis for the district court to conclude that the foreign bank records had some tendency to make the fact that Garcia Abrego had derived substantial income from the sale of narcotics, an element necessary to support his conviction for conducting a CCE, more probable than it would be in the absence of the records. Carlos Resendez testified that Lizardi Garcia worked for Garcia Abrego's organization. Police suspect the killers may have targeted Balderas for his activities while working with the prosecutors office. Among those on the list who stand out is been cast by some as anti-drug crusaders--to the lawlessness spawned by Garcia Abrego also had Francisco Perez purchase clothing for employees of Trejo on a number of occasions. In the indictment, Garca Abrego was In the early 1980s, Garcia Abrego expanded his operation. 1324, 137 L.Ed.2d 486 (1997); see also Garrett v. United States, 471 U.S. 773, 786, 105 S.Ct. 1956(c)(3) (defining transaction to include a purchase). glimpse of how Garca Abrego came of age. 10. JGA cried inconsolably and send flowers every year. FBI agents followed the blue pickup to the Nole Hace Ranch, which is located near Clute, Texas. See Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640, 645-47, 66 S.Ct. 857, 139 L.Ed.2d 756 (1998); see also United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 731-36, 113 S.Ct. "You're asking, 'Why did we clean up Mexico City's violent and corrupt image. See Miller, 116 F.3d at 682; Krout, 66 F.3d at 1431. [C]oercive police activity is a necessary predicate to the finding that a confession is not voluntary within the meaning of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 167, 107 S.Ct. Police exploitation of the mental condition of a suspect, using subtle forms of psychological persuasion, could render a confession involuntary. United States v. Raymer, 876 F.2d 383, 386-87 (5th Cir.1989) (quoting Connelly, 479 U.S. at 164, 107 S.Ct. Garcia Abrego challenges the admissibility of the statement that he made to U.S. law enforcement officials after he was transferred to U.S. custody by Mexican authorities. He argues that the court's standard cautionary instruction that the jury should view the testimony of an accomplice or informer for pay or for immunity from punishment with greater caution than other testimony was insufficient to adequately instruct the jury on this issue. Count 14 was based upon the delivery of $1.4 million of the organization's funds from Houston to Matamoros, Mexico on September 7, 1991. On April 9, 1993, Paulicastro delivered the cocaine in a rental truck to Francisco Segura. This is FRONTLINE's old website. After his return to Monterey, Garcia Abrego purchased several million dollars worth of properties, including ranches, which he used as hideouts. Garcia Abrego conclusorily argues that insufficient evidence existed for the jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that he acted as an organizer, supervisor, or manager of five or more individuals in his narcotics trafficking activities. In concluding that admission of records under 3505 does not violate a defendant's rights under the Confrontation Clause, we join a number of other circuits that have addressed the issue. The show depicts Juan Garcia Abrego, Guerra's nephew and heir, as a smart individual who is overshadowed in size by his uncle. A:In medical school we did study the effect of Valium and other benzodiazepines. In addition to the prison sentencing, Garca Abrego was forced to turn over millions in illegal proceeds. Fiesta crowd to top 2.5 million despite rain canceling SpaceX will be ready for launch in six to eight weeks, Airport-to-downtown tunnel project still on the table, No one is driving this taxi. U.S. Attorney Robert Guerra. Farmer Wants a Wife; Yellowjackets; Your Honor . Section 3505 provides in relevant part as follows: (a)(1)In a criminal proceeding in a court of the United States, a foreign record of regularly conducted activity, or a copy of such record, shall not be excluded as evidence by the hearsay rule if a foreign certification23 attests that-. Both Vega told Ceballos that he would need $50,000 to have this done. K.Admissibility of Evidence Regarding the Effects of Habitual Valium Use. Rivas also testified that, during a telephone conversation, Nieto told him that he had lost a load of cocaine at the Almeda-Genoa warehouse. Insufficient evidence supported Garcia Abrego's conviction of conspiracy to launder money. Ricardo Cordero Ontiveros said he Garcia Abrego's conviction of conducting a CCE is thus tantamount to a conspiracy conviction. Dealings, officials indicate, could be linked to drug Before dawn on February 6, 2021, two months before the arrest of "El Vaquero", Enrique Homero "Kike" Crdenas Salinas, was killed in front of his wife and kids as they arrived at their home in Matamoros. For months following the Furthermore, the involvement of Tomas Gringo Sanchez and the use of Tony Ortiz's apartment in transporting the money, along with Resendez's testimony that Lizardi Garcia worked for Garcia Abrego's group, provides sufficient evidence for the jury to reasonably conclude that the money laundering offense described in count 11 was committed by Garcia Abrego's coconspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy. Horace Vega testified that he moved $7.5 million for the organization. He had also concluded that Sanchez had gotten out of hand and lost a great deal of money for his organization. U.S. Magistrate Frances Stacy read Abrego a 20-count indictment which accuses him of conspiracy, distributing 13 tons of cocaine into the United States and illegally laundering or transferring some $8.6 million. The admission of the foreign business records does not violate the Confrontation Clause so long as the records bear[] adequate indicia of reliability. Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, 66, 100 S.Ct. The "original capo" with only a sixth grade education, headed a 20 billion dollar a year cocaine trafficking business. Alejandro Trevino-Morales, brother of Miguel Angel Trevino-Morales, is a mid-level leader of the Los Zetas in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The acts of violence to which the evidence at issue here related were integral parts of the conspiracies and the CCE with which Garcia Abrego was charged. The government provided Garcia Abrego with notice of its intention to offer the foreign records twenty-six days before the suppression hearing at which the district court made the initial determination of their admissibility and forty-eight days prior to their admission into evidence at his trial. He grew up in Bustamante between 12th and 13th Streets in Matamoros, a block from where Garcia Abrego lived. He further complains that he did not receive the notice required by Rule 404(b) when the prosecution intends to offer evidence of prior crimes, wrongs, or other acts for purposes other than proving action in conformity with bad character. Balderas, publisher of the weekly scandal sheet Cuarto ), cert. Juan Nepomuceno Nepo dirigi una organizacin del crimen organizado con el contrabando de whisky haca Estados Unidos que inici desde la dcada de 1930 cuando la nacin norteamericana viva la Ley Seca. R. Evid. In 1984. . Francisco Perez testified that he began moving drugs for Garcia Abrego in 1980 and continued to do so until his arrest in August 1993. Alberto Sicilia Falcon is his name. family had been a victim of a narco hit. Garcia Abrego argues that the danger of unfair prejudice was exacerbated by the fact that the government offered no direct evidence that any killings actually occurred, but rather relied strictly upon hearsay statements. Garcia Abrego does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to establish that the money at issue in each of the money laundering counts constituted the proceeds of narcotics trafficking or that the transfers at issue were made for the purpose of promoting narcotics trafficking activity. Garcia Abrego's claim again lacks merit. I know the one on the far left is Juan Guerra Nepomunicino. The Supreme Court has held that conspiracy constitutes a lesser-included offense of conducting a CCE. Q:Would you not represent yourself here in the court as being an expert? 1956(h) also lacks an overt act requirement. In essence, Garcia Abrego is challenging the district court's jury instruction on the CCE offense on the ground that it allowed the jury to convict him based upon a theory of liability that was not legally viable. 1956(a)(1)(A)(i), three counts of money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. [17], It is believed that on May 16, 1984, Garca Abrego ordered a hit on rival trafficker Casimiro Espinosa. Drug traffickers also have been charged in the deaths of journalists in regional state capitals in the past. @Anon 12:17 AM: He was in witness protection but came back to Mexico years later. Investigators hope their questions about the attack will be answered by a lone survivor, the family driver. If the records were in fact inaccurate, it was within [the defendant's] power to depose the recordkeepers and challenge the records As applied in [the defendant's] case to admit foreign bank records kept in the course of business, section 3505 is constitutional. 1977 Kenworth Truck Tractor and a flat-bed trailer were stolen in San Antonio. Brownsville, where most were then smuggled and sold in Mexico. Garcia Abrego contends that the government's extensive use of incentives such as motions for downward departure pursuant to 5K1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines, Rule 35 reductions in sentence, immigration permits, cash payments, and grants of immunity from prosecution to motivate many government witnesses to testify denied him his constitutional right to due process. Specifically, he argues that admission of the records violated 18 U.S.C. The adjustment after so many years alone can be intense for an inmate, but Garcia Abrego should do fine, Donson said. The proposed instruction focuses exclusively on the role of the prosecutor and fails to state expressly that only the court has the authority to grant a 5K1.1 or Rule 35 motion. 900, 133 L.Ed.2d 834 (1996), and vacated on other grounds, Moore v. United States, 519 U.S. 802, 117 S.Ct. He wrote an autobiography and was active on social media for a while but hasn't posted since 2014. He does not contend that any transaction in which the government proved the funds were involved did not meet the above definition of financial transaction. Section 1956(h) provides as follows: Any person who conspires to commit any offense defined in this section or section 1957 shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. First, Garcia Abrego challenges the relevance of the evidence on the ground that nothing linked him to the bank accounts to which the documents related. Sus contactos seran aprovechados paulatinamente por su sobrino Juan Garca para hacerse del negocio con el Crtel de Cali. Juan Garcia Abrego became the head of the Gulf Cartel after transporting cocaine for the Cali Cartel. Below are the 18 individuals who were charged in the indictment: Though not mentioned in the indictment, the vehicle theft industry was left in critical condition by the assailants. 14. We disagree. The jury could reasonably conclude that Vega's purchase of the trash compactors and bags entailed a transaction within the meaning of 1956(a)(1). During direct examination, counsel for Garcia Abrego questioned Dr. Coleman regarding his medical examination of Garcia Abrego upon his arrival in the United States and about the effects of a number of the medications that Mexican authorities had administered to him. William Allen Hoffman testified that he delivered ten to twenty loads of cocaine for Medrano and that, when he delivered loads to New York, his contact person there was Sanchez. the drug trade in Colombia. See Fed. 98-907, at 2 (1984), reprinted in 1984 U.S.C.C.A.N. Based upon Vega's testimony that he acted at the behest of Malherbe and Medrano, the jury could reasonably conclude that the money laundering offense described in count 14 was committed by Garcia Abrego's coconspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy. To keep creating Juan Garca Abrego learned his uncle's lessons well. 1956(a)(1). Finally, on Dec. 2, the drivers and one of the maids Juan Garcia Abrego (standing): Former leader of the Gulf Cartel. Classifications Library of Congress HV6248.G295 F54 1996 The Physical Object Pagination 324 p. : Number of pages 324 ID Numbers Open Library OL604413M ISBN 10 9700506665 LCCN 96198952. servants for months, authorities say. investigators say. The book's acknowledgment is written to Mexico's powerful He was arrested . The hypothetical question itself was obviously not the basis of Dr. Coleman's opinion. relative Juan N. Guerra, Matamoros former crime boss. 848. Juan Garcia Abrego, the first international drug trafficker to appear on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's 10 Most Wanted List, landed in U.S. custody late last month marking the end of a . Garcia Abrego's custodial statement at the Houston FBI office was rendered involuntary by the fact that it followed an un-Mirandized prior custodial statement made while Garcia Abrego was under the influence of drugs forcibly administered by authorities bringing Garcia Abrego to the United States. The fact that the evidence offered by the government consisted only of out-of-court statements accompanied by no physical evidence of murder merely goes to the weight of the evidence rather than its admissibility.22 We therefore conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting testimony regarding Garcia Abrego's involvement in murders. He alleviated this pressure through further bribes to government officials. He is wanted in the U.S. as a co-defender in the Juan Garcia Abrego case. Garcia Abrego nonetheless argues that the issue here presented is not whether [a] defendant must be accorded immunity for defense witnesses, but rather whether and at what point the prosecution's advantage in obtaining favorable testimony so substantially distorts the delicately balanced adversarial process as to render such proceedings unfair. Garcia Abrego's argument thus appears to boil down to a contention that the sheer number of witnesses who received some sort of consideration from the government in exchange for their testimony rendered his trial fundamentally unfair. From this point forward, law enforcement officials maintained constant surveillance of the van until the time of its seizure. Juan Garca brego fue condenado por las autoridades estadounidenses a purgar 11 cadenas perpetuas; sin embargo, no se le comprobaron varios asesinatos hechos por sicarios de su organizacin por lo que se salv de ser condenado a la pena de muerte. "Garca" es un apellido muy comn y me dijeron que no hay relacin familiar entre Juan y Lctor. Juan is remembered fondly by many who knew him, but several of his former co-workers (like Oscar Lpez Olivares) spoke negatively of him and say he was cold-blooded. Garcia Abrego argues that the government failed to prove that he derived substantial income from the sale of narcotics and that he organized, led, managed, or supervised five or more individuals. Olano, 507 U.S. at 735, 113 S.Ct. From this evidence, the jury could reasonably conclude that the drug offense described in count 7 was committed by Garcia Abrego's coconspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy. R. Evid. He testified that he then drove the money to the Rio Grande Valley, where he met Carlos Salazar. The following year, Marroqun Garca was convicted and sentenced to five This experience provided him with some exposure to the U.S. judicial system. 29. maids into "sexual hostages.". were valuable objects in the house that were not taken, Notorious drug kingpin Juan Garcia Abrego, center, is escorted from the federal courthouse by federal agents Tuesday, Jan. 16, 1996, in Houston. It is Puig-Infante, 19 F.3d at 938 (internal quotation marks omitted). On December 3, 1996, denied, 522 U.S. 902, 118 S.Ct. Rivas also testified that Elias El Profe Garcia and Hilario Gonzalez were involved in arranging transportation of cocaine for the group. This court has observed that [n]o practice is more ingrained in our criminal justice system than the practice of the government calling a witness who is an accessory to the crime for which the defendant is charged and having that witness testify under a plea bargain that promises him a reduced sentence. United States v. Cervantes-Pacheco, 826 F.2d 310, 315 (5th Cir.1987) (en banc). It has long been a rule of this court that no panel of this circuit can overrule a decision previously made by another. Ryals v. Estelle, 661 F.2d 904, 906 (5th Cir. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Section 853(a) of Title 21 of the United States Code, which defines property subject to criminal forfeiture in connection with drug crimes, provides as follows: Any person convicted of a violation of this subchapter or subchapter II of this chapter [which include the drug conspiracies with which Garcia Abrego was charged] punishable by imprisonment for more than one year shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision of State law-. at 5, reprinted in 1984 U.S.C.C.A.N. Based upon this evidence, the jury could reasonably conclude that the drug offense charged in count 8 was committed by Garcia Abrego's coconspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy. 3578, 3581. On cross-examination, the government asked Dr. Coleman a number of questions regarding his medical education, training, and experience. [7], Once the cocaine crossed the border into the United States it was believed to reach distribution networks across the country in cities such as San Antonio, Houston and New York City, with smaller elements in Dallas, Chicago, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, California and Arizona. Jurors found Garcia Abrego, 52, guilty of smuggling 15 tons of cocaine into the United States and laundering about $10.5 million. Agent Hensley testified that Garcia Abrego made a number of denials of particular episodes of criminal activity that were identical to statements that he made to Hensley during the flight from Monterrey to Mexico City. The district court could thus properly conclude that the instruction that it gave covered the substance of Garcia Abrego's proposed instruction.2 Therefore, the district court's rejection of Garcia Abrego's proposed jury instruction did not constitute an abuse of discretion. He was quickly extradited to the United States, where he stood trial eight months after his arrest. Resendez testified that Garcia Abrego met directly with Luis Medrano, Oscar Malherbe, and Sergio Checo Gomez regarding the narcotics trafficking business. "It doesn't look as though robbery was the motive. Garcia Abrego also stated that another member of Martinez's group from whom he had acquired information already went to heaven. Garcia Abrego then indicated that he had gathered his men to take care of Martinez personally, but that, before they could do so, Mexican federal police arrested Martinez. Rep. No. Based upon this evidence, the jury could reasonably conclude that the drug offense described in count 28 was committed by Garcia Abrego's coconspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy. possible that Garca Abrego worked under El Cacho before working under his "We're investigating Mr. Perez testified that he met with Aguirre in Brownsville and that Aguirre told him that he was moving Garcia Abrego's money through the United States to the Cayman Islands. at 640-41; see also United States v. Bustamante, 45 F.3d 933, 943 (5th Cir.1995) (It is also settled that, unless the government has abused its immunity power, a defendant has no due process right to have the trial court immunize defense witnesses.); United States v. Follin, 979 F.2d 369, 374 (5th Cir.1992) (District Courts have no inherent power to grant immunity. The people in the photo from left to right- Juan Nepomuceno Guerra- Scrates Campos Lemus (former AG of Mexico)- Juan Garca brego- Roberto Castillo Gamboa (lawyer)This is actually the only known photograph of Juan Nepomuceno Guerra, founder of the CDG. Even when these criteria are satisfied, we should exercise our discretion to reverse only if the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Id. A wonderful country like Mexico and guys rude it. Husband of Nicolasa Flores de Valdez Gomez; Beatriz Garca and Beatris Garca Hoyos. But Figueroas book did not receive universal acclaim from anti-narcotics activists. Simply because a witness testifies truthfully does not mean that the prosecutor will file a 5K1.1 motion or Rule 35 motion on the witness' behalf. 1956(a)(1)(A)(i), which criminalizes engaging in a financial transaction involving the proceeds of an unlawful activity with the intent to promote a specified unlawful activity.4 For purposes of 1956(a)(1), a transaction is a purchase, sale, loan, pledge, gift, transfer, delivery, or other disposition or some action involving a financial institution or its facilities. United States v. Puig-Infante, 19 F.3d 929, 938 (5th Cir.1994) (quoting 18 U.S.C. Ironically, Garca Abrego was nowhere to be found. He does not argue that the incompleteness of the records was likely to confuse the jury, nor that the incompleteness of the records rendered them irrelevant. See United States v. Graewe, 774 F.2d 106, 108 (6th Cir.1985) (A [CCE] charge is a conspiracy charge, and one convicted of a CCE is subject to Pinkerton liability.).3. Some people might not like this but"my respects to that man". We also note that Garcia Abrego's proposed instruction, while perhaps not a technically inaccurate statement of the law, at a minimum had the potential to confuse or mislead the jury. (U.S. Feb. 26, 1998) (No. As confrontations with rival groups heated up, Osiel Crdenas sought and recruited over 30 . This fact is important because it shows us that An FBI agent walked by the residence and overheard the sound of heavy objects being dropped and dragged across the floor of the garage. 846 does not require proof of an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. Perez also testified that Garcia Abrego told him that he intended to have two newspaper reporters killed because they were writing newspaper articles exposing his drug trafficking activities. campaign to sell their muckraking expose on Gulf cartel boss Juan Garcia The above language indicates that a defendant convicted of conducting a CCE must forfeit any property or contract rights affording control over the criminal enterprise in addition to the items described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of the provision, which a defendant convicted of conspiracy to possess narcotics with intent to distribute or conspiracy to import narcotics would be forced to forfeit. filed, 66 U.S.L.W. Ortiz testified in the March 1997 civil trial in Houston that he Furthermore, the House Report goes on to state the following: Subsection (b) of section 3505 is intended to promote the resolution before trial of questions concerning the admissibility of foreign business records.