A high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel known as "The Jaguar" has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by a federal judge in Texas after pleading guilty to three of 14 counts in a federal indictment.

According to Border Report, El Paso Judge Frank Montalvo recently ordered Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo, alias "The Jaguar" and "14," to serve 480 months in a federal correctional institution in Arizona.

He was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine and spend five years under supervised release. Torres Marrufo was known to supervise the Sinaloa Cartel's operation in Juarez city in Chihuahua state, which includes moving drugs from Mexico to the United States and getting rid of competitors. 

Witnesses said The Jaguar has quickly earned the reputation as one of the top enforcers of Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera.

In a press release, DEA Special Agent in Charge Williamson earlier said they were bringing drug cartel leaders to justice through close and sustained cooperation with their partners in Mexico.

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The Case of Sinaloa Cartel Member 'The Jaguar'

Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo was arrested in Leon city in Mexico's Guanajuato state in February 2012. He was extradited to Texas in May 2019 on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, money laundering, and drug distribution. 

The Jaguar was among 24 alleged Sinaloa Cartel members indicted in 2012 over their roles in the group. The other defendants included El Chapo and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who allegedly took over the Sinaloa Cartel after El Chapo was arrested in Mexico in 2016.

According to a federal indictment, Torres Marrufo, together with other Sinaloa Cartel members and associates, "coordinated with transportation cells to arrange for large quantities of cocaine and marijuana to be imported into the U.S."

The indictment further noted that Torres Marrufo and other defendants "committed, attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence" such as kidnapping, torture, and murder in an effort to maintain control of all aspects of their operations, WFXR reported.

Reports said Torres Marrufo formed Gente Nueva cell of the Sinaloa cartel to carry out attacks for El Chapo when war broke out between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Juarez Cartel in 2006.

Among the killings attributed to The Jaguar was a man from New Mexico who was kidnapped at his wedding ceremony in Juarez on May 7, 2010. Torres Marrufo was charged with ordering the murder of the groom, his brother, and his uncle. Their bodies were discovered by Juarez police a few days later in an abandoned pickup truck.

According to the indictment, Torres Marrufo also allegedly ordered the kidnapping of a man from his Texas home in August 2009. The victim was found dead and mutilated in Juarez after a month.

According to the Attorney's Office Western District of Texas, the war between the Sinaloa Cartel and Juarez Cartel led to the death of thousands of people in Juarez and throughout Mexico's states of Chihuahua and Durango. The violence gave rise to Juarez being named the "deadliest city in the world."

The Sinaloa Cartel Under El Chapo and El Mayo

The Sinaloa Cartel is one of Mexico's largest and most powerful drug trafficking organizations. The Mexican drug cartel has been known to carry out assassinations, murders, and torture to protect its turf.

Both El Chapo and El Mayo were among the people who established the Sinaloa Cartel from the remnants of the Guadalajara Cartel after its leader Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo was arrested in 1989.

El Mayo was reportedly left in command of the Sinaloa Cartel after El Chapo was arrested and extradited in the U.S. The U.S. State Department has already increased its offer from $5 million to $15 million for information that will result in the arrest of El Mayo.

Meanwhile, a federal court has found El Chapo guilty of drug trafficking, money laundering, murder conspiracy, and use of a gun in crimes involving drugs. He was sentenced to spend the rest of his days in the ADX Florence "supermax" prison after being sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019.

READ MORE: El Chapo's Wife Emma Coronel Could Dismantle Sinaloa Cartel by Cutting Deal With U.S.: Report

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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