A Mexican cartel boss was sentenced to 36 years in prison in that country for his role in a drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy. The drug lord is the same individual who shot a rising professional soccer star in Mexico City.
On Monday, a judge in Mexico State sentenced Jose Jorge “El JJ” Balderas Garza to a 36-year prison term on drug conspiracy and money laundering charges, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR) revealed. Balderas Garza has been in prison since January 2011 on other charges including the attempted murder of soccer star Salvador Cabanas at a bar in 2010. At the time of Balderas’ arrest, authorities also arrested his girlfriend, Julianna Sossa Toro, a Colombian beauty queen. The arrest drew major media attention since it was one of the cases that portrayed the flashy lifestyles of cartel members.
Currently, Balderas Garza is at a federal prison in Chiapas.
Mexican prosecutors describe Balderas Garza as a top leader within the now largely defunct Beltran Leyva Cartel and the right-hand man of jailed kingpin Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villarreal.
From his time in the Beltran Leyva Cartel, Balderas Garza was the leader of Los Pelones, a group of cartel enforcers based in central Mexico. After the arrest of La Barbie in 2010 and Balderas Garza a year later, the Beltran Leyva began to fracture and absorb into the Sinaloa and Gulf Cartels.
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.
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