The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a Texas federal jury convicted two members of Barrio Azteca, a prison and street gang, regarding the murders of three individuals who were United States citizens. The victims were a U.S. Consulate employee, her husband, and the husband of a different U.S. Consulate employee, and the suspects are looking at life in prison.
According to the news release, forty-three-year-old Jose Guadalupe Diaz Diaz, often referred to as “Zorro,” and fifty-four-year-old Martin Artin Perez Marrufo, known as “Popeye,” both from Chihuahua, Mexico, were found guilty on February 3 for conspiracy of trafficking narcotics, importing narcotics, racketeering, money laundering, and murder within a foreign country. In addition, they received three counts of murder in aid of racketeering and three counts of murder using a firearm during drug trafficking.
The trial lasted for thirteen days with U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone in the Western District of Texas division of El Paso. Evidence showed that on March 13, 2010, both suspects had roles in the gang to be gunmen who carried out fatal hits to Leslie Enriquez, a U.S. Consulate employee, Arthur Redelfs, her husband, and the husband of another U.S. Consulate employee Jorge Salcido Ceniceros. Specifically, Diaz murdered Enriquez and Redelfs, and Marrufo murdered Ceniceros.
All three victims were leaving a child’s birthday party in Juarez, and the shooters had mistaken them for rival gang members. Barrio Azteca gang became allies with La Linea to fight against their rival, Sinaloa Cartel, to conquer trafficking routes through Juarez, which ultimately led straight to the United States.
Authorities know that twelve years have passed since the murder of these victims. However, on February 3, they still celebrated hard work since justice was served to the victims, who were innocent American citizens of Cartel violence.
Anne Milgram, a DEA Administrator, stated, “Today’s convictions serve as a stark warning to all drug traffickers that we will pursue any and all who compromise the safety and health of Americans and those who support our U.S. missions abroad. The hard-working women and men of DEA will continue to work with our domestic and global partners to rid our communities of the intimidation, violence, and drug abuse these criminal drug networks inflict.”
Diaz was extradited from Mexico to the U.S. on November 13, 2019, and Maruffo on January 18, 2020, with the help of Mexican law enforcement. They are scheduled for sentencing on May 9 and are facing life in prison.
Barrio Azteca is a gang established in 1986 in El Paso jails, then transformed to become a transnational criminal organization. They are considered the most violent gang evenly spread throughout the United States. An estimated 5,000 members in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and 3,000 scattered in Texas, New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.
The DEA believes that seventy percent of cocaine enters the U.S. in the area that the gang was claiming. Most of the members obtained U.S. citizenship making it easy to cross the border. With members throughout the United States and Mexico, Mexico’s drug war continues.
Justice Department’s Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. stated, “These convictions demonstrate the Department’s commitment to combating violent transnational criminal organizations. I want to thank the Mexican Government for its cooperation, including extraditing both defendants to the United States to face criminal charges.”