“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
Video translation is as follows:
The woman speaking in this video is Ana Bella Sanchez Rios. She was recruited by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel to transfer more than $4.3 million from her business in the state of Virginia, according to a criminal indictment. Doña Bella, as her customers called her, sold meat, vegetables, piñatas, sweet bread, tortillas, and items imported from Mexico.
At the same time, this Tapatia woman received wads of dollars that the cartel obtained from the distribution of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is one of the most dangerous in the world. In recent years, it has used small businesses run by migrant families in the United States to move its millions in illicit profits. It does so through remittance services. It is a method also used by the Sinaloa Cartel.
Up to ten percent of remittances destined for Mexico can reach criminal groups, US government sources investigating this type of illicit operation, who requested anonymity, told Reuters. The DEA claims Doña Bella was part of a criminal network that distributed narcotics from a small town in Virginia. The businesswoman made transfers to Mexico of less than $1,000 so as not to set off alarm bells for the authorities.
A DEA operation caught Doña Bella and more than ten cartel operators. She is serving an eight-year sentence in an Alabama prison. She is scheduled to be released next November. When that date arrives, Doña Bella will be deported to Mexico.
Martinsville, Virginia
* Natives of Guadalajara are known as Tapatía for females or Tapatío for males.