Chivis Martinez for Borderland Beat
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This is a "determinate life sentence"....meaning life without parole. He will spend the remainder of his natural life in prison, unless he wins on appeal. . He is 46.
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A life sentence is rare in drug trafficking cases, having been imposed in less than one-third of one percent of all drug trafficking cases.
This is a "determinate life sentence"....meaning life without parole. He will spend the remainder of his natural life in prison, unless he wins on appeal. . He is 46.
Alfredo Beltran Leyva was handed down a “life” sentence today. Judge Richard J Lyon, imposed the sentence in a Washington D.C. courtroom.
A life sentence is rare in drug trafficking cases, having been imposed in less than one-third of one percent of all drug trafficking cases. And the sentence of life is fairly rare in all cases, representing apx 2.5 percent of all cases in the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
Alfredo, had requested a sentence of 25 years. He was 35 years old at the time of his 2008 Mexico arrest. He has been incarcerated continually since that date. Alfredo, the baby brother of Arturo and Hector Beltran Leyva, leaders of the Beltran Leyva, was betrayed by El Chapo Guzmán, who provided information to authorities, that resulted in the arrest of Alfredo. El Chapo swapped the information in exchange for the prison release of his son Archivaldo. Archivaldo had been incarcerated three years by 2008, with little hope of being released for years. He was released within 90 days of Alfredo’s arrest with the government declaring the action was the result of the case having “no evidence”.
Alfredo’s brother Arturo was enraged at the betrayal, and a split between the two groups and brutal war commenced.
It is suspected that is was on the orders of Arturo, that El Chapo’s son Edgar was gunned downed in 2008 at a Culiacán shopping center parking lot. (left)
The two families had been very close, with multiple marriages within and between, members within the Beltran Leyva and Guzmán family.
Alfredo was once married to El Chapo’s first cousin, and currently married to a Chapo niece.
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| Archivaldo Guzman leaves prison 2008 |
Judge Lyon signed the order of forfeiture this week. Without supporting hard evidence, and relaying of the word/testimony of such credible witnesses as Edgar La Barbie Valdez, judge Lyon accepted the claim of the United States that Alfredo has 10 Billion dollars in assets.
There has been a recent trend in the claim of ridiculous amounts of forfeitures. Since 2013, three CDG defendants had 10B forfeitures against them, and El Chapo has one in the amount of 14B.
One can only guess the reason why this trend has been established. Perhaps to counter bad publicity, and low support for the handling of the drug war including minimal favorable results. Those who are not schooled in the drug war, are more likely to accept the inflated forfeiture figures, and surmise that the actions by the U.S. government is somehow paying off getting narco bigs off the street.
Arturo Alfredo one of the narco “Goliaths”
Appeal Mochomo Beltran Leyva by Chivis Martinez on Scribd
“Alfredo Beltran Leyva is one of the ‘Goliaths’ of Mexican drug traffickers known for his savage business tactics and responsible for flooding the United States with illegal drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New York Division. “This sentencing exemplifies law enforcement’s commitment to bringing justice to the victims of drug abuse through successful prosecutions of the highest echelon of drug traffickers.
“Alfredo Beltran Leyva spent decades at the head of a criminal organization responsible for trafficking large amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine into the U.S.,” said Assistant Director Richardson. “Today’s sentencing marks an end to Alfredo Beltran Leyva's reign of terror, and demonstrates that the FBI and our law enforcement partners around the globe will aggressively pursue and bring justice to those individuals who use violence and intimidation to threaten our communities.”
Alfredo is appealing his sentence.
In December, Alfredo Guzman Beltran aka "El Mochomito" was arrested in Mexico. He is the son of Alfredo. Leading up to the arrest, the younger Beltran was in an intense conflict with the sons of El Chapo