EL PASO, Texas – The grim saga of the Barrio Azteca Criminal Enterprise reached a new chapter as Salvador Garcia-Garcia, alias Ardilla, 56, of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, was sentenced to 144 months in federal prison for a RICO offense. Garcia-Garcia stood accused of orchestrating the shipment of heroin from Juarez to El Paso, a role that put him at the helm of the drug smuggling operations.
From Aug. 1, 2010, through Sept. 10, 2014, Garcia-Garcia allegedly coordinated these illegal activities, recruiting members and associates to facilitate the heroin’s entry into the United States. The indictment against him on that fateful day in 2014 listed seven counts of criminality, including conspiracy, murder aiding racketeering, drug trafficking, money laundering, and transferring a firearm to a prohibited person.
The authorities finally caught up with Garcia-Garcia on June 20, 2024, following an extensive investigation. He entered his guilty plea on April 7, 2025, marking the end of a lengthy legal battle that has seen the sentencing of 18 co-defendants since 2016.
In June 2017, another Barrio Azteca leader, Juan Pablo Espino, was handed concurrent sentences of 299 months and 240 months for conspiracy to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity and money laundering. This latest sentence against Garcia-Garcia underscores the relentless pursuit of justice in the drug war.
The investigation into Garcia-Garcia’s crimes was a collaborative effort, with the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the El Paso Police Department, and the Texas Department of Public Safety all playing pivotal roles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steve Spitzer and Antonio Franco were the prosecutors responsible for seeing this case through to its conclusion.
With Garcia-Garcia’s sentence behind bars, the justice system continues to send a stark message to those who would seek to profit from organized crime and drug trafficking in Texas.
RELATED: Barrio Azteca Boss Garcia-Garcia Sentenced to 12 Years for RICO Violation
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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