Thread: Ex-drug cartel boss released in El Paso

Ex-drug cartel boss released in El Paso
Times staff
Article Launched: 03/06/2008 08:47:28 AM MST


Francisco Rafael Arrellano Felix, 58, was released from a U.S. prison and sent back to Mexico through El Paso, according to published reports in Southern California.
Arellano Felix is said to be the oldest of several brothers who run a violent drug cartel in Northern Mexico.

According to court records obtained by the El Paso Times, Arellano Felix pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court in 2007 to charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and to possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The plea came nine months after he was extradited to the United States from Mexico.

According to reports, Arellano Felix was freed from an American prison and transferred to Juarez through El Paso. However, local authorities have not confirmed the information.

The Arellano Felix organization has a long history of violence associated with a continuing drug war in Mexico that so far has claimed nearly 3,000 lives.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_8472208

Holey moley! Wouldn't that be a 15 year minimum sentence for an American citizen convicted of the same offense?

This absolutely floors me. We've heard about him for years as to how he was wanted. They've no doubt spent mega bucks to get him and now they release him?

U.S. frees Tijuana drug boss after weeks
From Reuters
March 6, 2008

MEXICO CITY -- A convicted drug cartel boss has been freed on parole and returned to Mexico just weeks after he began serving a six-year U.S. prison sentence, U.S. and Mexican officials said Wednesday.

Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix, 58 and the eldest of the brothers who ran the Tijuana cartel, was deported Tuesday and crossed to Ciudad Juarez from El Paso.

Arellano Felix was the boss of the Tijuana cartel when he was arrested in 1993 in Mexico and sentenced to 11 years for drug possession and using illegal weapons.

He remained in prison for two more years while authorities arranged his extradition to the U.S., where he was wanted for selling cocaine to an undercover agent. He pleaded guilty in June in San Diego.

He began serving his sentence in January and was paroled Feb. 1, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said. A U.S. official said Arellano Felix received credit toward his U.S. sentence for time served while awaiting extradition in Mexico. Because his U.S. case dates to 1980, he was eligible for parole under laws on the books then, the official said. Since then, parole has been eliminated for those convicted of federal crimes.

Arellano Felix's younger brothers, Francisco Javier and Benjamin, are behind bars in the U.S. and Mexico, respectively. Another brother, Ramon, was killed in a shootout with Mexican police in 2002, and a fifth, Francisco Eduardo, is at large.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printeditio ... 5388.story