Major Drug Cartel Leader Extradited from Mexico to U.S. to Face Mulitude of Charges

[Unbreakable]

Alberto Benjamin Arellano-Felix, an alleged leader of the Arellano-Felix Organization (AFO), was extradited by the government of Mexico to the United States to face racketeering, money laundering and narcotics trafficking charges in California.

Arellano-Felix was taken into custody by Mexican authorities in 2002. A final order of extradition to the United States was granted in 2007. After years of unsuccessful appeals, Arellano-Felix arrived in the United States Friday afternoon.

U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy, whose office secured the indictment against Arellano-Felix, said that she was “extremely proud of the dedication and commitment that teams of people have demonstrated in bringing Arellano-Felix to answer, in an American court of law, to the very serious charges with which he is charged.” Duffy stated, “We are grateful to the Government of Mexico for its assistance in the extradition and have personally relayed our thanks to Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales.”

Long-reputed to be one of the most notorious multi-national drug trafficking organizations, the AFO controlled the flow of cocaine, marijuana and other drugs through the Mexican border cities of Tijuana and Mexicali into the United States.

Source:
http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews...ited-from-mexico-to-u.s.-to-face-mulitu/7310/

One down, hundreds more to go

 

[severely etarded]

lol. he obviously was little use to the system

fuckin bullshit man. politics always does corrupt shit, then when it comes down to it they just get a scapegoat to blame. Truth is the war on drugs is just about $$ & power.

 

[Mora Fiend]

Oh shit they took down the head of the cartel?! Now all of those people who worked for him are just going to go back to college and become CPAs and all those drugs and billions of dollars are going to be taken off the streets....man, looks like the USA won the War on Drugs.

 

[severely etarded]

^ LOL.

Now somebody else just becomes the bossman

Better punishment for the cartels would be to legalize and domestically produce drugs.

They'd be so pissed nobody wants their shitty weed & levimisole-cut coke

 

[Herbal~Jah]

^ And their shit ass mexican black tar heroin nonsense...


Dude Mexican drug cartels fuck up like every drug they try to produce and/or touch....

 

[severely etarded]

^ And their shit ass mexican black tar heroin nonsense...


Dude Mexican drug cartels fuck up like every drug they try to produce and/or touch....

^ They do it because they want to maximize profits, and don't give a flying fuck about the health of their customers. Another reason drugs should be legally produced domestically, in sterile, pharmaceutical conditions IMO.

 

[SangerRainsford]

Update of Sorts <musta missed this thread>

We know Benjamin Arellano Felix was extradited to the US a couple of days ago, but there is more information from the LA Times including the video of his extradition and while taking his mug shot in 2002.

Benjamin Arellano Felix, the former leader of one of Mexico's most feared organized crime groups, had been incarcerated since his 2002 arrest. He is flown to San Diego to face racketeering and drug conspiracy charges.

Mexican authorities escort Benjamin Arellano Felix as he is extradited to the U.S. from Mexico City. Many families in Baja California are still searching for people who disappeared during his years in power. (General Prosecutor's Office / April 29, 2011)

By Richard Marosi and Tracy Wilkinson,
Los Angeles Times

Reporting from San Diego and Mexico City -- The Mexican government Friday extradited to the United States drug kingpin Benjamin Arellano Felix, the former leader of one of Mexico's most feared and powerful organized crime groups, whose ruthless reign transformed northern Baja California into a major drug trafficking corridor into the U.S.

Arellano Felix, who had been incarcerated in a Mexican prison since his arrest in 2002, was flown to San Diego and transferred to the downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he will be held under heightened security during court proceedings that are expected to last months, and possibly years.

The extradition marks the end of a long effort by U.S. authorities to get Arellano Felix into a U.S. courtroom. He faces racketeering and drug conspiracy charges as part of a San Diego federal grand jury indictment that has already led to the arrests and convictions of several of his brothers and associates from the cartel's heyday during the 1980s and '90s.

Arellano Felix, who headed the organization known as the Arellano Felix, or Tijuana cartel, was among the first of Mexico's modern organized crime bosses. With connections to Colombia, he and his brothers established a drug pipeline that funneled tons of cocaine and other drugs into California, according to the indictment.

Authorities allege the cartel generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, using the money to bribe Mexican military and law enforcement officials and to purchase weapons that enforcers would use to torture and kill enemies in Mexico and the San Diego area.

The effects of Arellano Felix's iron-fisted rule are felt to this day. Many families in Baja California are still searching for the whereabouts of people who disappeared during his years in power. The cartel popularized the use of chemicals to dispose of enemies, disintegrating bodies by dumping them into vats of lye and acid.

"The Arellano Felix organization has spread fear and violence on both sides of the border, and today's extradition is an important step forward in our effort to hold the alleged leaders of this criminal enterprise to account," said U.S. Assistant Atty. Gen. Lanny A. Breuer.

Many observers doubt the case will ever get to trial, noting that every other defendant has pleaded guilty. If he cooperates with prosecutors, Arellano Felix could shed light on the deaths of numerous potential witnesses and a crusading Mexican prosecutor whose head was crushed in an industrial press. He could also implicate people the cartel bribed, said John Kirby, a former federal prosecutor who worked on the case.

"It shows they're serious," Kirby said, referring to the administration of Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Arellano Felix "could spill the beans on everybody. He had dealings with the highest levels of government, and in the church, in the military."

The extradition comes at a time of tense relations between the U.S. and Mexico, strained in part by leaked diplomatic cables that contained pointed criticisms by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual of the Mexican government's drug-war efforts. Calderon complained vociferously about Pascual's assessments, and Pascual offered his resignation in March.

Samuel Gonzalez, a former top organized crime prosecutor, said the extradition came as U.S. and Mexican officials were meeting in Washington to discuss the Merida Initiative, a package of U.S. aid for the drug war. At the State Department on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosted her Mexican counterpart, Patricia Espinosa, at the third gathering of the Merida Initiative High-Level Consultative Group.

"It's a gift from Mexico," Gonzalez said of the extradition. "This is a way for Mexico to show its good intentions."

With most of its original leaders either arrested or dead, the cartel has splintered into rival factions in recent years, leading to brutal infighting that has all but wiped out the once-powerful group.

Arellano Felix's brother, Javier, was captured on a boat off Baja California in 2006 and sentenced to life in prison. Another brother, Ramon, the cartel's notorious enforcer, was gunned down in Mazatlan in 2002.

Benjamin Arellano Felix is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.

AP-
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