Barrio Azteca Boss Garcia-Garcia Sentenced to 12 Years for RICO Violation

EL PASO, Texas – The grim tale of the Barrio Azteca Criminal Enterprise reached a conclusion last week as Salvador Garcia-Garcia, better known as Ardilla, was sentenced to 144 months in federal prison for his role in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) offense.

The Mexican national, 56 years old from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, was implicated in the shipment of heroin across the border, orchestrating the drug’s transit from Juarez to El Paso. Garcia-Garcia conducted his nefarious activities between Aug. 1, 2010, and Sept. 10, 2014, enlisting others in his bid to flood the streets of El Paso with illegal narcotics.

On Sept. 10, 2014, Garcia-Garcia faced seven counts of charges including conspiracy, murder, drug trafficking, money laundering, and firearm transfers. He was finally apprehended by federal authorities on June 20, 2024, and entered a guilty plea to the RICO charge on April 7, 2025.

Since 2016, 18 co-defendants have been sentenced in this case. In a pivotal moment, Juan Pablo Espino, another Barrio Azteca leader, was handed concurrent sentences of 299 months and 240 months for conspiracy and money laundering in June 2017.

The investigation into Garcia-Garcia’s activities was a collaborative effort involving the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the El Paso Police Department, and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steve Spitzer and Antonio Franco were instrumental in bringing him to justice.

U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas announced the sentence, underscoring the severity of Garcia-Garcia’s crimes against the American public.