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Luis Humberto Hernandez Celis Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy and Drug Trafficking Offenses
A Barrio Azteca gang associate has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in a racketeering conspiracy and drug trafficking offenses in Texas.
Luis Humberto Hernandez Celis, 32, of El Paso, Texas, was sentenced to 240 months in prison for his involvement in the racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and conspiracy to import heroin, cocaine, and marijuana.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell, U.S. Attorney Richard L. Durbin Jr. for the Western District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Douglas Lindquist of the FBI’s El Paso Office, and Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy of the DEA’s El Paso Division made the announcement.
According to court documents, the Barrio Azteca gang began operating in the late 1980s as a violent prison gang and has since expanded into a transnational criminal organization based in West Texas, Juarez, Mexico, and throughout state and federal prisons in the United States and Mexico.
The gang relies on a militaristic command structure, with leaders and members using violence and threats to maintain power and enrich themselves through drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion, intimidation, and murder.
Hernandez Celis admitted to using violence and threats to advance the gang’s criminal activities, including stealing cars, managing drug distribution points, and collecting ‘cuotas’ for a BA leader in Juarez.
Thirty-five members and associates of the Barrio Azteca gang, including Hernandez Celis, were charged in a third superseding indictment with various counts of racketeering, murder, drug offenses, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
Of the 35 defendants charged, 33 have been apprehended, and 25 have pleaded guilty, while one has been convicted at trial and one committed suicide while imprisoned during his trial.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s El Paso Field Office, Albuquerque Field Office, DEA Juarez, and DEA El Paso, as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, and Texas Department of Public Safety.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Organized Crime|Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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