Mexican drug kingpin Benjamin Arellano Felix pleaded guilty Wednesday to
racketeering and conspiracy to launder money, avoiding the spectacle of
a trial for the leader of a cartel that once smuggled hundreds of tons
of cocaine and marijuana into the United States and dissolved bodies of
its rivals in vats of lye. Under an agreement with federal prosecutors, Arellano Felix, 58, can be
sentenced to no more than 25 years in prison — a lighter punishment than
ordered for lower-ranking members of his once-mighty, Tijuana-based
cartel.
Prosecutors agreed to dismiss other charges that could have brought 140
years in prison if he was convicted.
The half-hour hearing was an anticlimactic finish to the U.S.
government’s pursuit of one of the world’s most powerful drug bosses
during the 1990s. His cartel, with its iron-tight grip on the drug trade
along California’s border with Mexico, was portrayed in the Steven
Soderbergh film “Traffic” but has struggled in recent years as other
cartels have become more ruthless than ever.
Laura Duffy, the U.S. attorney in San Diego who built much of her career
on the case, said Arellano Felix will likely spend the rest of his life
in U.S. prison but did not elaborate on the reasoning for the plea
deal.
“Today’s guilty plea marks the end of his reign of murder, mayhem and
corruption, and his historic admission of guilt sends a clear message to
the Mexican cartel leaders operating today: The United States will
spare no effort to investigate, extradite and prosecute you for your
criminal activities,” Duffy said.
Arellano Felix stood attentively in court, acknowledging his guilt as
U.S. District Judge Larry Burns recited parts of a 17-page plea
agreement. He told the judge that he has been suffering migraine
headaches almost daily but that the problem didn’t impair his judgment
to accept the plea agreement.
Anthony Colombo Jr., Arellano Felix’s attorney, said his client could be
released from U.S. prison in 20 years if credited for time served in
this country and good behavior, assuming he gets the maximum 25-year
sentence. As a Mexican citizen, he would then be deported to Mexico,
where he still has nine years left on a sentence for related crimes.
Colombo said the government may have agreed to the deal to avoid having
to bargain with 21 potential government witnesses for reduced sentences
in exchange for their testimony. They also may have wanted to avoid a
lengthy trial.
“They have to consider years and years of litigation, plus the expense,
is avoided by this resolution,” Colombo told reporters.
John Kirby, a former federal prosecutor who co-wrote the 2003 indictment
against Arellano Felix, said the case rested entirely on cooperating
witnesses, instead of wiretaps or physical evidence. He said those cases
weaken over time as witnesses die, get into more trouble or change
their minds about testifying.
“This kind of case is based solely on witness testimony, and it slowly
disintegrates,” Kirby said. “Maybe from the time when we put it together
and now, it’s not such a great case anymore.”
The cost of a trial was unlikely to have influenced prosecutors, Kirby
said.
“The government doesn’t care about the expense, the government cares
about winning,” he said.
Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, a younger brother who led the cartel
after Benjamin was arrested in Mexico in 2002, was sentenced in San
Diego to life in prison in 2007, a year after he was captured by U.S.
authorities in international waters off Mexico’s Baja California coast.
Jesus Labra Aviles, a lieutenant under Benjamin Arellano Felix, was
sentenced in San Diego to 40 years in prison in 2010.
Benjamin Arellano Felix was extradited from Mexico in April 2011 to face
drug, money-laundering and racketeering charges, one of the
highest-profile kingpins to face prosecution in the United States.
The U.S. indictment said Arellano Felix was the top leader of a cartel
he led with his brothers, going back to 1986. It says the cartel
tortured and killed rivals in the United States and Mexico as it
smuggled Mexican marijuana and Colombian cocaine.
“He was the top of the chain,” Kirby said. “The brothers were at the
top, and he was at the very top. He had the final say ... He was like
the CEO of the operation.”
The cartel began to lose influence along California’s border with Mexico
after Arellano Felix was arrested in 2002. A month earlier, his
brother, Ramon, called the cartel’s top enforcer, died in a shootout
with Mexican authorities.
Benjamin Arellano Felix was incarcerated in Mexico after his 2002 arrest
and was later sentenced to 22 years in prison on drug trafficking and
organized crime charges.
Arellano Felix also agreed to forfeit $100 million, a figure that will
be difficult for the government to collect.
“Whether there is anything out there that (the government) can seize, I
don’t know,” Colombo said.
Sentencing was set for April 2.
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