Opinion ID: 2799450
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Murders and Kidnapping

Text: Miguel Trevino ordered the killing of at least two individuals who either refused to cooperate in the money-laundering scheme or were cooperating with the authorities. Los Zetas purchased quarter horses through intermediaries. These intermediaries were often wealthy businessmen who were not under IRS investigation, so that law enforcement would not ask questions “about where the money [for the horses] was coming from.” These individuals included Alejandro Barradas and Ramiro Villarreal. The government alleges that Appellant Colorado Cessa was among those who purchased horses on Los Zetas’ behalf; this is discussed in greater detail below. A former leader of Los Zetas testified that Miguel Trevino ordered the murder of Ramiro Villarreal “because [Los Zetas’ leaders] realized that he was cooperating with the U.S. authorities” after his arrest in Houston. 5 Miguel Trevino ordered the murder of Alejandro Barradas because he refused to allow the organization to register horses under his name as the owner. 4 One witness described how Vasquez would ordinarily receive “a thousand kilos of cocaine a month” that he would then sell in the Dallas area, such that he would “send back maybe [$]3 or $4 million a week” to the cartel; however, he would pay horse expenses “out of whatever [he] was going to be sending . . . [s]o it was never [his] money. It was always their money.” 5 A DEA agent’s testimony separately confirmed that Villarreal had indeed been cooperating with officials before his body was found at the scene of a “fiery” car crash. 5 Case: 13-50849 Document: 00513035268 Page: 6 Date Filed: 05/07/2015 No. 13-50849; cons. w/ No. 13-51003 A wealthy Mexican businessman, Alfonso Del Rayo, testified that members of Los Zetas kidnapped and extorted him, using the horse operation essentially to launder the ransom money. Several Zetas kidnapped and tortured Del Rayo and demanded a ransom of the equivalent of $4.5 million. Del Rayo was released nine days later, after sustaining severe injuries. Soon thereafter, a Veracruz government official and Carlos Nayen (a coconspirator) approached Del Rayo “about [his] kidnapping.” They instructed Del Rayo to travel to Oklahoma City to buy a horse, insisting this was for his own safety and that of his wife and children. Del Rayo flew to Oklahoma City, where he was met by Appellant Fernando Garcia–Solis and instructed to make the winning bid on a horse named Blues Ferrari, a horse purchased for $15,000 as part of the conspiracy. Del Rayo complied, purchasing the horse for $310,000. The manager of the Oklahoma City auction house testified that Del Rayo “looked like he had been in an accident.” Indeed, the auction manager was so struck by Del Rayo’s appearance that he took a photo on his cell phone (which was shown to the jury). He explained: “I’d never seen this person before and [he was] buying a very expensive horse, and I was just very concerned with the transaction at the time.” Carlos Nayen later asked that Del Rayo send between $600,000 and $700,000 in checks to the operation’s horse-breeding facility, and after Nayen’s indictment, Nayen demanded the keys to Del Rayo’s house in San Antonio and money to pay attorney’s fees. Del Rayo understandably said he felt he could not refuse demands from Nayen or from other members of Los Zetas.