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 News from Around the Americas | March 2007 
Accused Mexican Kingpin's Trial Delayed
 Associated Press
A trial for an alleged Mexican drug kingpin accused of smuggling as much as six tons of cocaine a month into the U.S. has been postponed until later this year.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys asked that the case of Osiel Cardenas-Guillen be declared complex since evidence goes back years, witnesses from around the country are expected to be called to testify and hundreds of reports from several law enforcement investigations are expected to be submitted. A federal judge agreed, giving attorneys more time to prepare for the trial that had been scheduled for April, the Brownsville Herald reported Saturday.
Court documents now show Cardenas-Guillen won't face a trial until late 2007.
Cardenas-Guillen, 39, was extradited to the United States in January and is being held in Houston. He faces 17 counts of drug importing and distribution, as well as three charges of threatening a federal agent and one count of money laundering. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
Authorities say Cardenas-Guillen was the leader of the Matamoros, Mexico-based Gulf cartel, which he ran even while in a Mexican prison for nearly the past four years.
He is accused of being one of the kingpins most responsible for violence along the Texas-Mexico border in recent years. Authorities say he has been in a turf war with a rival cartel for prized drug smuggling routes.
Prosecutors plan to call about 100 witnesses, many who are in federal custody, the U.S. Attorney's office said in court filings.
Evidence in the case includes materials seized in Houston and several South Texas cities. Prosecutors have thousands of conversations obtained from court-authorized wire taps conducted in Brownsville, McAllen and Atlanta, Ga., according to court filings. |
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