Free Republic

Luis Alberto “El Pelochas” Blanco Flores, 30, pleaded not guilty to the charge of illegal re-entry to the U.S. when he was arraigned in federal court on Wednesday morning. Blanco, who authorities say is a former member of the Gulf Cartel and Zetas criminal organizations, entered the plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan. During the hearing, Blanco smiled at his wife and had a jovial demeanor. In a previous hearing, Blanco had openly cried in court when he saw his wife, mother and sister. The judge scheduled Blanco’s trial for November. If convicted of illegal re-entry, Blanco faces up...

Jose Ezequiel Galicia Gonzalez, an alleged member of the Zetas criminal organization, was in federal court Wednesday for a competency hearing after he tried to kill himself with plastic cutlery. According to testimony given before U.S. Magistrate Judge Felix Recio, Galicia used either a plastic knife or a plastic spoon to cut his wrists and then slit his throat. According to defense attorney Reynaldo Cantu, Galicia almost succeeded and ended up in intensive care. Cantu stated that Galicia might suffer from a mental disease or defect and requested a psychiatric evaluation. Galicia will be evaluated by a court-appointed psychiatrist on...

A man alleged to have been a member of Mexico’s 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...