Cartel leader's plea ends 'reign of murder'

— Benjamin Arellano Félix, the former leader of Tijuana's most notorious drug cartel, pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to racketeering and money laundering conspiracy charges.

FILE - This March 9, 2002 handout file photo, released by Mexico's Attorney general office, shows Mexican drug lord Benjamin Arellano Felix the day of his arrest inside his house in Puebla, Mexico. Mexican prosecutors announced Friday, April 29, 2011 Arellano's extradition to the US. (AP Photo, file) — AP

Arellano, 58, now faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison, according to the plea agreement worked out by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego with his lawyers.

Federal prosecutors declined to comment on the deal, including why they agreed to a prison term that is far lighter than others in the Arellano Félix Organization have received.

But U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy, who brought cases against major cartel leaders before becoming the top federal prosecutor in San Diego in 2010, hailed the outcome for essentially putting a cap on a 25-year pursuit by federal law enforcement of Arellano and the drug organization he led along with his brothers.


During Wednesday’s hearing, Arellano stood with his hands clasped behind his back and answered question from U.S. District Judge Larry Burns. He admitted to a litany of crimes, including distributing untold tons of drugs between 1986 and 2002, laundering the huge profits that came from the dealing, and being the leader of the organization.

That reign effectively ended in 2002 when he was arrested in Mexico. He was extradited to the United States last April and now is scheduled to be sentenced by Burns on April 2.

In addition to possibly spending 25 years in prison, Arellano also will have to forfeit under the plea agreement $100 million, proceeds from the sprawling and lethal cartel that bribed government officials, and kidnapped and killed enemies along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Before agreeing to plead guilty, Arellano was facing a minimum sentence of 40 years and a potential maximum of 140 years, said his lawyer, Anthony Colombo Jr. He will likely have to serve at least 20 years of a 25-year sentence before becoming eligible for release.

Among the cartel members who received longer prison terms than Arellano faces is his brother Francisco Javier Arellano Félix. He is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty in 2007 to racketeering and money laundering charges. The cartel’s chief financial manager, Jesus “Chuy” Labra Avilés, is serving a 40-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana.

Several factors came into play in reaching Benjamin Arellano’s plea agreement, Colombo said. Among them was that prosecutors had lined up some 21 cooperating witnesses — many of them, like Labra, former associates who had pleaded guilty in exchange for a possible reduction in their prison terms in the future.

That meant the testimony of those witnesses could be compromised, Colombo said, because of their deals to cooperate with prosecutors. It also meant the government would be in the unwelcome position of having to seek reductions in prison terms for convicted drug traffickers, he said.


