FBI seeks Victoria fugitive in arrests of Raza Unida gang members

• Originally published 04-24-2009 at 5:45 p.m., updated 04-24-2009 at 5:45 p.m.
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If you know where Garcia is, call:

The Victoria County Sheriff's Office special crimes unit at 361-575-0651.

The Houston office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at 713-693-5000.


An alleged Victoria gang member is the only suspect missing from a sweeping federal bust of cocaine and methamphetamine traffickers.

Henry Garcia, a 30-year-old Victoria man who goes by Shorty, is at large and thought to be in Victoria.

Federal authorities indicted 15 alleged Raza Unida gang members and associates for drug trafficking and gun possession, said Tim Johnson, the acting U.S. attorney in Houston.

The Raza Unida is a prison and street gang with documented ties to Mexico's Gulf Cartel.

Johnson unsealed the indictments Thursday after the arrest of 11 suspected gang members in the Houston and McAllen area. Three others were already in state or federal custody on other charges. Most are from Houston.

Garcia, though, is still on the loose.

"We'll find him," said Victoria County Sheriff T. Michael O'Connor. "Sooner or later, I'm going to get him."

The trafficking bust is part of Operation Lunar Eclipse, a three-year-long investigation by the Multi-Agency Gang Task Force.

The task force is made of several federal and state agencies, including the FBI. The group works closely with South Texas police and sheriff's offices.

The Raza Unida gang formed in 1993 within the Texas prison system. Gang members mark their bodies with tattoos of the words "Raza Unida" and the numbers "18" and "21," which correspond to the numerical placement of the letters "R" and "U" within the alphabet.

"The illegal drug trafficking activities and associated violence conducted by prison gangs and their associates pose a continuing threat to our communities and within our prisons," said Johnson, the U.S. attorney. "They cannot be permitted to go unchecked."

Operation Lunar Eclipse is the latest in a series of investigations undertaken by the federal, state and local partners.

The task force has arrested some of the area's most feared and violent gangs, including MS-13, the Texas Syndicate, the Hermanos Pistoleros Latinos and the Raza Unida, said aid Andrew Bland, an FBI special agent.

These recent indictments allege the 15 Raza Unida gang members trafficked drugs and stored them in stash houses where they wrapped, packaged and distributed them.

Agents also seized nine guns and a vehicle that has a hidden compartment containing handcuffs and traces of illicit drugs.

If convicted, the alleged gang members face a minimum of 10 years in prison. No trial date is set.

O'Connor warned Garcia, the fugitive, is considered dangerous.

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