Security high for Waco trial of alleged drug cartel leader
By Tommy Witherspoon
Waco Tribune-Herald
July 15, 2018
Federal officials are ramping up security measures for the trial of an alleged leader of a Mexican drug cartel that is set to start Monday in Waco.
Juan Francisco Trevino Chavez is scheduled to stand trial in Waco’s U.S. District Court on seven felony counts, including conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana; conspiracy to import with intent to distribute a controlled substance, marijuana; unlawful distribution of controlled substances extra-territorial; conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, cocaine; conspiracy to import with intent to distribute a controlled substance, cocaine; conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking; and money laundering conspiracy.
Chavez, also known as “Kiko,” is described in an indictment filed in May as a “poly-drug trafficker” and a leader in the Los Zetas drug cartel that operates out of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
“In furtherance of the conspiracy, the defendant organized the source for and distribution of large quantities of narcotics, laundered funds, controlled a cell of traffickers and a group of armed sicarios, and met with and conspired with the highest level operatives with Los Zetas,” the indictment alleges.
Sicarios are defined as hired killers.
The indictment charges that Los Zetas “is a transnational drug cartel that has dedicated itself to the pursuit of organized criminal conduct principally through drug trafficking, extortion, weapons trafficking and murder.”
“Los Zetas is a powerful drug trafficking organization operating out of Mexico, which funnels thousands of kilograms of cocaine, marijuana and other narcotics into the United States each year,” according to the indictment. “Los Zetas is one of the largest drug cartels operating in Mexico today, with their influence stretching from Central America through Mexico and into cities throughout the United States.”
Dan Phillips, supervisory deputy U.S marshal, said his agency does not discuss security measures. Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton also declined comment when asked about increased security in and around the downtown federal courthouse, referring questions to the U.S. Marshals Service, which is charged with the protection of the courthouse, judges and other federal officials.
Sources with knowledge of the increased security called the trial a “high-risk scenario.”
U.S. District Judge Alia Moses, who normally presides over cases in Del Rio, has been assigned to hear the trial in Waco. She has scheduled jury selection to start at 10 a.m. Monday.
1 comment:
No amount of security can stop a sniper with a .50 round from over 1/2 a mile away.
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