“Morogris” for Borderland Beat
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| Vicente Carrillo-Fuentes, alias El Viceroy |
A Mexican federal judge dismissed a double jeopardy complaint from the defense team of Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, also known as El Viceroy, the former leader of the old Juarez Cartel.
The defense argued that El Viceroy, who had faced charges of organized crime involvement, had been granted release by an appeals court, and imprisoning him for the same charges in another court would constitute double jeopardy.
However, the prosecution countered that double jeopardy did not apply since El Viceroy was only charged, not convicted, of organized crime involvement. The court sided with the prosecution, rejecting El Viceroy’s complaint.
Background
El Viceroy is the brother of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, also known as El Señor de los Cielos (Lord of the Skies), the legendary leader of the old Juarez Cartel. After Amado’s death in 1997, El Viceroy inherited the leadership of the Juarez Cartel. Juan Pablo Ledezma, alias El JL, served as his right-hand man.
Viceroy funded El JL to establish Los Linces and Los Condors, two specialized armed wings created to combat the Sinaloa Cartel. La Linea, a criminal group, emerged from the collaboration of these two organizations, as outlined in a “Notable Figures” report from Borderland Beat.
For many years, El Viceroy led the Juarez Cartel and directed an extensive international drug trafficking network based at the El Paso–Juárez international border, one of the world’s busiest. In 2009, the US Department of Justice reported that around 70% of the annual cocaine entering the US transited through the El Paso–Juárez corridor.
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| Image credit (HEARST from Borderland Beat) |
In October 2014, Mexican federal police officers arrested El Viceroy in Torreón, Coahuila. Mexican authorities claim that the federal agents tracking El Viceroy monitored his activities for at least six months, followed the vehicle he used, and observed the residences he discreetly visited. When confronted by his captors, the Juarez Cartel leader initially provided a different name but eventually admitted to his true identity.
El Viceroy has been wanted by the US government since August 2000, when the US District Court for the Western District of Texas in El Paso indicted him. In the 46-count indictment, El Viceroy was charged with marijuana and cocaine trafficking, money laundering, tampering a witness, ordering a killing to suppress information to US investigators, and for leading a continuous criminal enterprise. The last charge alone carries a minimum sentence of 20 years and up to life imprisonment.
In September 2021, El Viceroy was sentenced to 28 years for organized crime involvement. He received an additional 20 years in October 2022. The US government issued a formal extradition request in the summer of 2015, but El Viceroy’s defense team has successfully been able to halt the process.
Sources: Diario de Juarez; Borderland Beat archives