A new report from 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates shows how the McKinney National Airport in Collin County and federal courts in Plano and Sherman have become key stops for accused drug cartel leaders on a road to face justice in the US.
Quietly, Collin and Grayson counties are now among the nation's go-to destinations for prosecuting high-level cartel figures.
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WATCH HEREOn Feb. 27, a Mexican Navy aircraft arrived at McKinney Airport. Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security were waiting near the terminal as the Mexican government handed over an accused leader of one of the world’s most violent cartels.
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SIGN UP A scene like a James Bond movie played out at what might seem like an unlikely airport.
“We call it 'McKinney International' because that's where it happens,” said Damien Diggs, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, which covers an area including McKinney in Collin County.
Over the last 15 years, federal prosecutors in the eastern district have turned courts in Plano and Sherman into go-to destinations for extraditing and trying drug lords from foreign countries.
“It’s doing a lot of work for the nation and a lot of it's happening right here in North Texas,” said Diggs.
Diggs said it began when his predecessors saw an opportunity to use the quieter eastern district courts to handle high-level cartel cases.
Over time, Diggs said, eastern district prosecutors have become specialists in working with foreign governments to win extraditions and then try cartel members in Texas courtrooms, where juries and judges often hand down swift convictions with big sentences.
“I was told by multiple government heads that the individuals in these drug organizations fear going to the Eastern District of Texas because the word is out,” said Diggs.
In February, the U.S. Justice Department announced Mexico had agreed to send 29 accused cartel kingpins to the United States.
Social media photos posted by Homeland Security show that three of the 29 were brought to the Eastern District, including Ramiro Perez Moreno, known as “El Rama” or "The Branch."
When Mexican authorities captured him in 2015, they identified him as the heir apparent to lead the Los Zetas, a cartel that took violence to a new extreme.
“I remember the beheadings, the killing of kids in front of their parents,” said retired DEA agent Javier Pena.
Pena led the agency's Houston office during the Zetas' brutal rise to power, often sparking violence that spilled into South Texas.
In 2011, the Zetas swept through the Mexican town of Allende, just 40 miles from Eagle Pass, Texas, killing at least 100 people after locals were suspected of leaking information to law enforcement.
“The violence was their calling card,” said Pena.
Hugo Cesar Roman-Chavarria, a high-ranking Zetas member prosecutors said took part in the Allende massacre, was later extradited to Collin County.
He was tried and convicted on drug trafficking charges in Plano, where witnesses also testified to his alleged involvement in directing Zetas gunmen to the homes of some of the Allende victims.
This fall, the latest accused Zetas leaders brought to the eastern district are scheduled for trial on trafficking charges.
In addition to “El Rama,” there's Lucio Hernández Lechuga, or “El Lucky,” and Miguel Angel Rodriguez Diaz, known as “Alfa Metro.” Mexican authorities described both as regional leaders of the Zetas.
“The message it sends is, it says to cartel members or folks in the organizations, is that you can't hide from the U.S. government anymore,” said Diggs.
Diggs said in U.S. prisons, cartel leaders can no longer direct their operations as they can sometimes from prisons in other countries, and he said convicting them in the U.S. is meaningful for victims of drug trafficking.
“It's hard to feel sorry for uprooting someone from their country when they've pushed poison into a region that has caused so much pain,” said Diggs.
Both Diggs and Pena have taken part in airport handovers over the years.
“You can look at this baddest (sic) traffickers, you look at them in the eye and you know what? They are scared,” said Pena.
Pena said it often sinks in the moment a cartel leader realizes U.S. law enforcement has finally caught up to them.
And for Diggs, seeing a plane land was the payoff for years of work by prosecutors.
“Once the body hits the ground, once that person's feet step on the ground in McKinney, we now have venue in the Eastern District of Texas,” said Diggs.
In federal indictments, the three suspected Zetas leaders recently returned to McKinney are facing drug trafficking conspiracy charges. They have all pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors refer to these as "9-5-9 cases," referring to the federal statute that prohibits manufacturing drugs with the intent to illegally bring them into the U.S. That law gives U.S. prosecutors a long arm to bring suspected cartel figures here to face charges.
An attorney for Ramiro Perez-Moreno told 온라인카지노사이트 5, “This case is in the beginning stages of litigation. Mr. Perez-Moreno looks forward to his day in court. We have no further comment at this time.“
An attorney for Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Diaz says, “This case, although alleging criminal activity that occurred many years ago, is still in its very early stages. As such, I look forward to completing my investigation into the allegations of the United States government, allegations which my client steadfastly denies. In cases such as these, it is important to remember that all accused defendants deserve and enjoy the constitutional right of the presumption of innocence. Recognition and respect for the rule of law, as well as the foundations upon which it rests, are more important than ever in today’s society. I look forward to continuing to represent Mr. Rodriguez-Diaz and to zealously advocate for his rights under the laws of our land.”
온라인카지노사이트 5 did not immediately hear back from an attorney for the third defendant, Lucio Hernández Lechuga.
McKinney National Airport has been in the news recently, with more community debate about whether it should begin offering commercial flights.
Meanwhile, important international flights have been arriving out of sight. Flights with fewer passengers than you would have on a commercial plane, but some very high-value passengers for U.S. law enforcement.
