Posted on 08/08/2010 10:17:43 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
A man alleged to have been a member of Mexicos Gulf Cartel and later of the Zetas criminal organization appeared in U.S. federal court Friday and when he saw his mother, wife and sister in the room broke down sobbing, his big frame shaking visibly.
Wearing khaki pants, a wrinkled blue shirt and shackles on his wrists, Luis Alberto Blanco Flores, known as El Pelochas, appeared at a preliminary hearing as a follow-up to his arrest on July 23 for illegal entry to the United States.
At the hearing, an agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement testified that Blanco has told authorities that he previously was a high-ranking member of the Gulf Cartel and played a significant role in narcotics distribution. The agent stated that Blanco has been cooperating with U.S. authorities since his arrest.
Fridays hearing was held in the court of U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan, who asked the agent to reconfirm his information because the court didnt want to hear testimony based rumors, innuendoes or newspaper articles.
Blanco, 30, was arrested in Brownsville two weeks ago in an operation that involved U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, the U.S. Border Patrol and Brownsville Police.
According to court documents, he is charged with re-entering the United States illegally after having been previously deported on Sept. 16, 2003.
A Mexican law enforcement official said Blanco previously had been part of the Gulf Cartel but more recently was affiliated with the Zetas organization, working under Arturo Castillo, known as El Apache.
Castillo was arrested in Brownsville a day after Blanco in the same interagency operation and also is charged with illegal entry to the U.S. Both men are in the custody of U.S. Marshals, and both will face extradition to Mexico after their cases here are resolved, ICE spokeswoman Nina Pruneda said.
Solitary confinement
During Fridays hearing, Blanco and his attorney approached the bench to ask that he be removed from solitary confinement and allowed to join the general jail population.
My client is going crazy, attorney Rick Canales told the judge. He is being treated like a caged dog, being locked in a little tight room.
At that point, Blanco wearing earphones so that he could listen to a Spanish translation of the proceedings broke down again, sobbing as his family members cried and embraced each other. The judge responded that any decision about solitary confinement rests with the U.S. Marshals, not with the court.
A lawyer from the U.S. Attorneys office asked that Blancos bail, currently set at $25,000, be increased, noting that federal authorities have information that Blanco had been a high-ranking member of the Gulf Cartel working under Alberto Castillo, known as Beto Fabe. Blanco is not only being held in lieu of bail but also on an immigration detainer.
Beto Fabe, brother of Arturo Castillo, was killed in May. According to a source with firsthand knowledge of criminal activity in Mexico, who for security reasons asked not to be identified, Beto Fabe was the head of the Gulf Cartel in Matamoros but cooperated with the Zetas by letting his brother operate there.
According to the source, after Beto Fabe was killed under orders of Gulf Cartel bosses, his brother and a group of hitmen including Blanco began openly attacking Gulf Cartel and police assets.
Arturo Castillo is believed to have ordered a recent attack at the Matamoros Municipal Police station which resulted in the murder of seven officers, authorities have said.
A few days after Castillos arrest in Brownsville, 15 bodies with signs of torture were dropped along a Matamoros highway. Each of the bodies reportedly had a large Z painted on its back, and sources have said the men were part of Castillos group.
At around the same time, the Mexican navy announced that it had arrested 12 Zetas at a motel in San Fernando, all of whom were also part of Castillos group. Authorities have said those 12 were among the 14 men killed early Friday in violence at the Matamoros State Prison.
He is being treated like a caged dog, being locked in a little tight room.
MUY BUENO!
“...when he saw his mother, wife and sister in the room...”
Why are they there? Why are they in the US?
Check their citizenship too, while they are right there in court, if they are not citizens, deport their sorry asses too.
There’s no crying in Zetas.
Not to worry, Zeta. Big Sis will order that you be released since jail is such and inconvenience for you.
Ping...
Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
If he is cooperating with the feds, his family may be in danger.
“During Fridays hearing, Blanco and his attorney approached the bench to ask that he be removed from solitary confinement and allowed to join the general jail population.
My client is going crazy, attorney Rick Canales told the judge. He is being treated like a caged dog, being locked in a little tight room. “
Now there’s a bit of irony for you. Border agents Ramos and Compean were in solitary for a couple years for trying to keep scum like this out of our country.
Buck up, criminal hombre!
“Kid, don’t do da crime if ya can’t do da time...’n’ dat’s da name a’ dat tune.”
No, really, what does “El Pelochas” stand for...”Man With Ovaries”?
“Theres no crying in Zetas.”
!;^)
“...what does El Pelochas stand for...Man With Ovaries?”
Help.
To me it is like calling someone “baldy.” Another way to say it is pelón.
From La Lydia.
To me it is like calling someone baldy. Another way to say it is pelón
Wheres a BMW when you need one?
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