EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A 36-year-old New Mexico man and leader of a transnational criminal organization with ties to one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
According to court documents, Alex Barraza aka Smiley, from Albuquerque, was sentenced to life in prison Friday for his role as the leader of the Barraza Drug Trafficking Organization, which has ties with the Sinaloa drug Cartel, the criminal organization reportedly founded by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia.
Court documents state, that Barraza was arrested over three years ago on April 9, 2021, and a year later, on April 14, 2022, pled guilty to charges of:
- Conspiracy to import 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
- Murder in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
- Use and carrying of a firearm concerning a drug trafficking crime.
- And conspiracy to launder money.
Authorities said that the Barraza criminal organization was responsible for bringing Methamphetamine– about 720 kilograms of it– from Mexico into the U.S. to distribute in Albuquerque and sending $1.7 million from the U.S. into Mexico…