Another Gulf Cartel Leader in Custody in Texas
Another Gulf Cartel Leader in Custody in Valley
Reported by: Farrah Fazal
Last Update: 1:10 pm
RIO GRANDE CITY - Another Gulf Cartel boss is in federal custody in the Valley.
CHANNEL 5 NEWS learned of the arrest in Rio Grande City Friday and we were awaiting confirmation.
Federal court documents show Eudoxio Ramos Garcia made a court appearance in front of a magistrate judge this morning. Immigration and Customs agents say they arrested Ramos Garcia at a house in Rio Grande City last Thursday.
ICE agents say Ramos Garcia was the Plaza boss in Miguel Aleman for the Gulf Cartel. Authorities say he admitted to agents he'd crossed illegally into the United States by wading through the river near Escobares. He said his visa had expired and he couldn't enter the United States legally. Ramos Garcia also admitted to agents he paid smugglers around $500 to move him across the river and to the house in Rio Grande City. He told agents the current Plaza boss is a man named Pepio and his nephews routinely smuggle drugs north to Houston.
Ramos Garcia is charged with conspiring to possess 120 kilos of marijuana. This is a significant arrest. In the last week, investigators arrested two others with cartel connections in Cameron County and the head of one of the factions of the Gulf Cartel, Rafael Cardenas Vela. Port Isabel police stopped him while he was on his way to his condo.
The intelligence-based firm STRATFOR said last week Cardenas Vela was talking to investigators about the Gulf Cartel's operations and turning on the other leader, Eduardo Costilla. STRATFOR said it was likely Costilla, or “El Cos,â€
