Associates of Rio Hondo cartel boss sentenced
A federal judge in Brownsville this morning sentenced the two men caught with notorious Gulf Cartel boss Rafael Cardenas Vela in October to 126 days in prison.
Francisco Javier Escalante Jimenez and German Alejandro Huizar Marroquin pleaded guilty in December to lying to federal agents about the identity of Cardenas Vela.
Cardenas Vela is accused of managing drug distribution cells for the Gulf Cartel. He is the nephew of Osiel Cardenas Guillen, former leader of the Gulf Cartel, and the late Ezequiel "Tony Tormenta" Cardenas Guillen.
Port Isabel Police arrested the men with Cardenas Vela after stopping their vehicle on a traffic violation. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents had been investigating the cartel leader, who was residing in Rio Hondo, for a lengthy period before his arrest.
When caught, Jimenez and Marroquin told agents they did not know the true identity of Cardenas Vela, who had supplied agents with a passport in a false name.
U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen handed down the sentence and gave them credit for time served, which is about four months.
