Rigoberto Ruiz-Alatorre, a 29-year-old admitted drug trafficker and former bodyguard for Sinaloa narcotrafficker Gabino Salas-Valenciano (aka “El Ingeniero”), was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison for murdering a member of his drug trafficking organization.
On May 16, 2014, the third day of his trial on federal drug and firearms charges, Ruiz-Alatorre pleaded guilty to one count of murder resulting from the use or carrying of firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
By pleading guilty, Ruiz-Alatorre admitted to trafficking over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in both the Western District of Texas and the District of New Mexico from 2002 to 2006; and, while in Albuquerque, NM, in July 2006, he shot and killed Roswell, NM, resident Fermin Rodriguez-Gonzalez to facilitate his narcotics trafficking operation and to prevent Rodriguez-Gonzalez from providing law enforcement with details of Ruiz-Alatorre’s narcotics trafficking activities.
Ruiz-Alatorre was also fined $5,000 as part of the sentence.
This joint investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) together with the United States Border Patrol (USBP), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bernalillo County (NM) Sheriff’s Office.
The sentencing of Ruiz-Alatorre brings an end to a lengthy and complex investigation into the Sinaloa Cartel’s operations in the region.
Ruiz-Alatorre is a former bodyguard for Gabino Salas-Valenciano, a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Sinaloa Cartel is a powerful and notorious Mexican drug trafficking organization.
Related Federal Cases
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- Cameron Nesbitt, Transporting Methamphetamine, Texas 2023 · California
- Cameron Nesbitt, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Texas 2025 · California
- Cameron Nesbitt, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Texas 2026 · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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