The accused leader of another Mexican drug cartel, who is said to have had close ties with El Chapo but became one of his rivals, has pleaded guilty to a United States federal court on Tuesday. Accordingly, he admitted that he helped in the shipping of tons of cocaine from South America.
In a report by Fox News, the man, identified as Alfredo Beltran Leyva, was captured in Mexico back in 2008. His plead comes weeks after Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was recaptured by Mexican authorities after escaping from a high-security prison last year.
Prosecutors have accused Leyva of selling drugs to U.S. gangs in exchange for weapons, commanding men to torture or kill his rivals, and paying bribes to Mexican government officials. These were not, however, presented in the court as he pleaded guilty even before the evidence could be presented.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch also released a statement regarding the plea that Leyva helped to lead one of the most "notorious drug cartels" that has caused widespread violence and disruption of many lives. The drug cartel was identified as the Beltran Leyva organization which ran human trafficking operations.
The Beltran Leyva organization, however, started to fall apart after Leyva's arrest. In 2009, one of Leyva's brothers, Arturo, was shot to death by Mexican marines causing them to slowly split. Two weeks after the shooting, another brother was detained. The last brother was arrested just last October, U.S. News reported.
Leyva admitted he worked with his brothers but clarified that he was just a member and is not the leader of the drug cartel.
Huffington Post reported that Leyva's plea means the trafficking charges could have him jailed for a minimum of 10 years in prison. He is scheduled for sentencing this June 6.
It is unclear what led to Leyva's plea but Michael Vigil, a former chief of international operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration, said that the drug cartel leader has a lot of information of the rampant problem. Vigil added that Leyva can "provide the blue print for significantly impacting a lot of the cartels."
