EL PASO, Texas (AP) - A man described by federal prosecutors as a bodyguard for a now dead Mexican drug cartel leader faces trial this week in El Paso on drug smuggling, firearms and murder charges.
Thirty-six-year-old Rigoberto Ruiz Alatorre is described in a federal criminal complaint as a bodyguard for Gabino Salas Valenciano, who was believed to run the Sinaloa drug cartel’s operations in the violent Valley of Juarez along the Rio Grande east of Juarez, Mexico.
The murder charge stems from a fatal shooting in July 2006. Jury selection is to start Monday.
Ruiz has told the El Paso Times (https://bit.ly/1ojeGIj ) he’s innocent, didn’t know Salas was involved in drugs and was arrested without justification in 2012 in El Paso. Salas was killed last year in a shootout with Mexican authorities.
___
Information from: El Paso Times, https://www.elpasotimes.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.