AP

Pair receives life for killing US consulate worker, 2 others

Oct 24, 2022, 5:58 AM | Updated: 5:59 pm

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Three gunmen with the Barrio Azteca gang were sentenced to life imprisonment Monday for killing a U.S. consulate worker, her husband and the husband of another consulate worker in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, officials said.

The three had all been found guilty by a federal jury in February of the fatal March 2010 shootings of consulate worker Lesley Enriquez, her husband Arthur Redelfs, an El Paso County jailer, and Jorge Salcido Ceniceros. All three were sentenced Monday in El Paso, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office statement.

The victims were returning home from a children’s birthday party when they were mistakenly targeted and killed.

Trial evidence showed that Jose Guadalupe Diaz Diaz and Martin Artin Perez Marrufo, both of Chihuahua, Mexico, served as the hit team that killed the three on March 13, 2010, after being mistaken for members of a rival gang, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office statement.

According to the same statement, “Barrio Azteca is a transnational criminal organization engaged in, among other things, money laundering, racketeering, and drug-related activities in El Paso, Texas, among other places.”

The gang joined with other drug gangs to battle the Sinaloa Cartel, at the time headed by Joaquín ‘Chapo’ Guzman, and its allies for control of the drug trafficking routes through Juarez, according to the statement.

The drug routes through Juarez, which is situated across the border from El Paso, are important to drug trafficking organizations because it is a principal illicit drug trafficking route into the United States, federal officials said.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

2 days ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

2 days ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

2 days ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

7 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

7 days ago

Pair receives life for killing US consulate worker, 2 others