A Honduran drug trafficker was sentenced today on charges of extortion, kidnapping, and conspiracy in the kidnapping and murder of federal drug agent Enrique Camarena Salazar and his pilot in Mexico.
But the jury that convicted Juan Ramón Matta Ballesteros also acquitted him of the single charge of murdering Camarena, who was kidnapped on the streets of Guadalajara in February 1985, a crime that was carried out between the United States and Mexico. strained their relationship.
Earlier this year, another jury found Matta guilty of running a cocaine smuggling business.
After the jury left the courtroom, Mr Matta's lawyer, Martin Strahl, protested to Federal District Judge Edward Rafeedi, saying today's verdict was inconsistent and overturning the jury's findings. asked the judge. Mr. Rafidi told him to submit the motion in writing.
No verdict on the other three defendants.
Matta was one of four defendants on trial, but jurors did not reach a verdict on the remaining defendants today. Judge Rafidi directed that deliberations continue on Friday.
Matta, a wealthy Honduran businessman, showed little reaction to the ruling other than shaking his head slightly in disbelief.
Mr. Matta's popularity in his native Honduras was such that his arrest and extradition in 1988 sparked street riots, but perhaps because Mr. Matta owned so many businesses that prosecutors were worried about the country's economy. This is probably because people were wary of the negative impact it would have.
After nine days of jury deliberations, Matta was found guilty of extortion in the kidnapping and murder of Camarena, conspiracy to kidnap Camarena, and kidnapping and detaining an investigator for questioning.
But jurors found Matta not guilty on the count charging him with murdering Camarena, 31, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent.
The trial was the second in the United States stemming from the murders of Camarena and pilot Alfredo Zavala Avelar.
This incident has sparked several disputes between Mexico and the United States through investigations and trials. The DEA has vowed to arrest everyone involved in the killing. So far, 22 people have been charged in this country and more than 20 have been convicted in Mexico.
The other three people on trial with Matta are Guadalajara businessman Rubén Zuno Arce, brother-in-law of former Mexican president Luis Echeverría Álvarez; Mexican ex-homicide police officer Juan Jose Bernabe Ramirez and former bodyguard Javier Vazquez Velasco are accused of killing two American tourists who were apparently mistaken for U.S. employees. .
According to testimony in the case, the agent was taken to his home, where he was tortured and interrogated, and killed along with the pilot, apparently as part of a successful bureau operation against a Guadalajara-based drug organization. This appears to be a retaliation for Their bodies were found a month later on a ranch 105 miles outside Guadalajara.