Mix. Multiple rap videos online pay tribute to Peña, who fled to Mexico after being charged in late 2011 with the attempted murder of three people in Starr County. The money was used, she said, to buy a house in San Juan. But he notes the safe itself "wasn't found in my client's possession" and that the government has the burden to prove it was Joel's. Why did Eduardo have photos on his phone of newspaper stories describing the 2014 capture of a man who used to be a high-ranking Gulf Cartel member known as Comandante Panochitas, or "Commander Pussy?". After he was found in that white Chevy pickup with his brother Fernando -- by then a murder suspect -- investigators assembled a Luna family tree and began looking into their backgrounds and activities. Available in English and Spanish, focused on the international, organized criminal networks that sustain themselves through narcotics, smuggling, and violence, Press J to jump to the feed. The Border Patrol referred all questions about Luna's case to the the U.S. Attorney's office in Houston, where spokeswoman Angela Dodge declined comment. It's not clear if Fernando Luna authored the messages, or merely forwarded them to his brother. During my time I was caught a total of 3 times. An agent at the port of entry in Hidalgo County, arrest warrant in hand, recognized him in a white Chevy pickup. They don't make them part of a criminal organization. Hey, Reddit! Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the investigation say that in March of 2013, Joel told the agency he'd been warned his family in Mexico was in danger unless he helped move drugs for the Gulf Cartel. But Franky's phone appears to have gone dead at 4:27 p.m. More than 130 officers employed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection have been caught in alleged acts of mission-compromising corruption -- often by letting drugs, undocumented immigrants or both into the country -- over the past decade. Authorities believe it may be the gun used to kill Franky. The extradition of El Hummer has been a headache case for Mexican and U.S. officials. Court records indicate Eduardo Luna's wife lived in the home. She wanted him to be born in Texas. The nation's largest federal law enforcement agency has long been dogged with questions about loose vetting procedures during and after hiring. The discovery prompted authorities to place a "detainer" on Luna at the Cameron County jail, meaning if he is ever set to be released from custody, federal agents can hold him for possible deportation. As far as Garza is concerned, the alleged criminal act of one Border Patrol agent doesn't tar the entire agency. A trial will eventually examine whether Joel Luna was involved in his brothers' supposed drug trafficking and the death of Franky Palacios. When investigators showed up at Veteran's Tire Shop the day after the body was found, they identified at least three people who worked there: Aaron Rodriguez Medellin, 23, whom everyone called "El Guero;" Nestor Manuel Leal, 19, and Eduardo Luna, 25. What was that doing in there? The Luna brothers' cell phones yielded clues and mysteries that, over time, would help investigators flesh out the story of Franky's murder. Mix. The Tribune requested Luna's urgent memo from U.S. Customs and Border Protection under a Freedom of Information Act Request, but the agency blocked its release, citing law enforcement and privacy reasons. A little more than a month later, on June 24, 2015, Eduardo Luna, Nestor Manuel Leal and Aaron Rodriguez Medellin were arrested at the tire shop. But those things being together don't make someone part of a killing. Joel was drawn to ROTC, and in high school commanders took him under their wings, giving him rides back and forth to class, Palomo recalled. Joel Luna apparently was so worried about the incident that he alerted his Border Patrol supervisors in Texas. The evidence that Joel Luna bought the safe with brother Eduardo in tow? CBP also declined to answer any questions about the memo and what actions it might have taken in response, if any. Roxana Ruvalcaba told police she believed Joel "had a large amount of bulk United States Currency" inside the safe. On Nov. 4, 2015, investigators arrived at the home of Joel Luna's mother-in-law, Maricela Villanueva, with a search warrant. The Gulf of Mexico state has endured years of turf wars between drug gangs, including the Jalisco New Generation Drug Cartel, the Zetas and the Gulf cartel. Still, even hardened South Texas lawmen long accustomed to cartel violence were surprised by Luna's indictment for murder -- a cartel-inspired beheading no less. A third, possibly garbled and using improper syntax, said Franky "is going around saying and your brother sells drugs." He has a U.S. birth certificate indicating he was born in San Juan, Texas, on May 20, 1985, which would have been found during his initial vetting process with the Border Patrol. "The army and police largely have been bystanders. In the spring of 2013, investigators would later learn, Joel's brothers and their families apparently had to flee Mexico in a hurry. Jessica Peña told investigators that Eduardo "shot her brother in the back several times to steal two million dollars from the Gulf Cartel that her brother was guarding," according to affidavits cited as evidence that cartel money was used to purchase homes in the United States. Another man was also in the truck -- Joel Luna. Jessica Peña offered up two other details that led investigators to believe Eduardo was connected to the Gulf Cartel and its internecine warfare in 2013. Fernando wasn't there but was found the same day crossing the border from Mexico into the United States. Murder investigators would report two years later that "information discovered inside Joel Luna's personnel file where he worked" are now part of the government's case against him. The region sees frequent clashes between the Noreste cartel, which controls a part of Nuevo Leon, and the Gulf cartel, which has been active in Tamaulipas for decades. Tumblr. A major break in the case came when they learned of a financial transaction under the name of Roxana Ruvalcaba, the half sister of Joel's wife, Dulce. Dirty cops and dirty Border Patrol agents are nothing new. The Gulf Cartel is using stealth tactics more commonly that involve people driving old work trucks and dressed as road workers to patrol their turf in the day. Eduardo Luna's lawyer did not return phone calls and emails seeking comment. The gunman, Joaquin “El Cruzador” or the “Crosser” Cibrian, managed to wound two local police officers and barricaded himself in a house. Investigators had seen that name before, in pictures on Eduardo's cell phone, inscribed on an unusual gun. Joel Luna, a 6-year Border Patrol veteran, was supposed to protect the country from drug trafficking and spillover violence. The murder of a businessman related to the top leadership of the Gulf Cartel is expected to trigger a new wave of violence. "Cartel fragmentation is a big part of the story of why violence is increasing," says Alejandro Hope, a security analyst and former Mexican federal intelligence official. Nor have prosecutors ever alleged that Joel was at the tire shop on the day of the murder, Garcia stressed. I'm currently writing my thesis on how drug cartels influence legislative processes and governments in general. Prosecutors are preparing to argue that Joel Luna was an integral part of a criminal enterprise, a cartel-connected drug trafficking ring that Franky was going to expose -- and the enterprise struck first. His lawyer said he is not being paid. Villanueva told investigators it belonged to Joel Luna. Investigators were also puzzled that stored on Eduardo's phone was a picture of an unusual gun -- a "highly engraved" .38 Super pistol, inscribed with the word "Pajaro," or bird, on the handle, sources close to the probe said. 1st time by DEA, 2nd time by Border patrol and 3rd time by State Police. And they left the tables and gifts and everything. Gus Garza, the lead prosecutor, declined to go into the evidence blow-by-blow but expressed confidence in the indictments. It … All are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Investigators called his denial "deceptive" because three other people pegged him as the owner of the safe, records say. He dialed 911 and told the South Padre Island Police Department what he'd found: "a headless body floating in the bay. The Honduran national had worked there for several years and often slept on a couch in the front office. Northeast Cartel (Los Zetas) (CDN): Juan Gerardo Trevino Chavez "El Huevo" Fernando Martínez "Comandante Werko" Armed Wing: The Troop From Hell (La Tropa Del Infierno) Gulf Cartel (CDG) Evaristo Cruz Sanchez "El Vaquero" Nueva Plaza Cartel: Erick Valencia Salazar "El … Close • Posted by 13 minutes ago. Don't identify anyone, or you are going to get beheaded.'". And in Joel Luna's arrest warrant, authorities say co-defendant Nestor Manuel Leal told police during interrogations that he, Franky, El Guero and Joel's two brothers were "involved with narcotics trafficking activities by ... the Gulf Cartel" -- but those records don't mention the middle Luna brother. Using a portable fingerprint reader from U.S. Inside, authorities found a trove of documents and contraband including Joel Luna's commemorative Border Patrol badge, his work station password, documents related to his credit union account and medical excuse paperwork. Over the ensuing weeks, the investigation led authorities on a meandering journey through the Gulf Cartel's internal bloodletting, featuring tales of a supposed double-crossing cartel hitman, a U.S.-born narco turned folk legend and a major mafia capo nicknamed "Commander Pussy" now locked up in a federal prison in Beaumont, Texas. His cousin Maria Lepe called him a "very honest kid" who did his best to care for an ailing, diabetic father. The prison holds members of five criminal groups, including the Gulf Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, Camberos said. Case. Records show it was bought in May 2013 by Concepcion Rodriguez, the Luna brothers' mother. The personal documents sitting alongside a big bag of cocaine and piles of cash? ", Blood was still dripping from the neck when Cameron County Sheriff's Deputy Ulises Martinez arrived, he would later report. The U.S. Border Patrol issued a statement after his arrest saying Luna would be placed on administrative leave. Luna was there and denied knowledge of the safe. The next US administration will have to counter the growing operation, which is claiming a growing number of American lives annually . It's where they think Franky -- about to rat out a drug trafficking operation with links to the powerful Mexican Gulf Cartel -- met his end. Although he held ties with Matamoros, the Gulf Cartel's bastion, Isassi was based in Tampico and helped cement the cartel's presence in southern Tamaulipas. Why the two Luna brothers were traveling from Mexico into the United States that June day sits atop a pile of unanswered questions about Joel Luna and his alleged connection to the brutal death of Franky Palacios. Tumblr. El Hummer was the former plaza boss of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, one of the Gulf Cartel's most lucrative turfs. Generally speaking, the Border Patrol doesn't include checks of any foreign databases, including criminal records or birth certificates, said agency spokesman Carlos Diaz. "It's just kind of the way that they handle people," he said. To date, authorities have not charged any of the defendants with arms trafficking. The Gulf cartel as well as its hitmen often refer to themselves as "The Company" -- and not without reason. But authorities recently discovered a Mexican birth certificate for him, issued in Reynosa, Mexico, three years after his birth was reported in the United States. Before he was found naked and decapitated days after his 33rd birthday, Palacios Paz -- "Franky" to his friends -- worked at Veteran's Tire Shop in Edinburg, one county over. reddit; linkedin; WhatsApp/span> Gulf cartel leader Jose Alfredo Cardenas was arrested in an early-morning raid on Monday. Joel Luna," Garcia said. "She's scared.". They also discovered $89,000 in cash, more than a kilogram of cocaine, 17 grams of meth, a scale, measuring spoons and "a ledger documenting the sales of narcotics and firearms and ammunition," his arrest warrant says. If the indictments are to be believed, he participated in it instead. Investigators couldn't find the man's head, and there were other suspicious cuts on the body. There were recordings from March 9, 2015, and March 11, 2015. He worked under Juan Carlos de la Cruz Reyna (alias "El JC"), a former state police officer. Saenz, whose lawyer did not return phone calls, is now serving a 30-year sentence in a federal prison in Beaumont after pleading guilty to laundering $100 million while moving a half-ton of cocaine and 90 tons of marijuana through the United States. "I represent Mr. Luna. ReddIt. Joel's achievements were a source of pride for the extended family. 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