Mexican authorities working with the FBI arrested a Texas-based member of the Gulf Cartel who was wanted on drug trafficking, murder, and kidnapping charges. The crime boss was captured in Playa Del Carmen.
Mexican federal agents working in connection with the FBI arrested Juan Alberto “A-1” Mendez in Playa Del Carmen and later extradited him to Texas. A judge in Houston formally notified Mendez of the charges against him while ordering his detention pending further hearings.
Federal agents described Mendez as an associate of the Gulf Cartel who operated in Texas and in Indiana. Mendez, from Mission, Texas, was named in a large-scale racketeering indictment targeting the Tri-City Bombers and was considered a high-risk fugitive when he fled to Mexico.
After his flight, the FBI offered a $25,000 reward suggesting Mendez could be hiding out in Playa Del Carmen, Monterrey, or the border city of Reynosa, Breitbart Texas reported at the time.
The indictment alleges that Mendez personally ordered the murder of a man in the Rio Grande Valley on September 24, 2013. The charges also allege that Mendez ordered the kidnapping and subsequent murder of another man on April 25, 2014.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.