Texas Horse Trainer In Zetas Case Released On Bond

An attorney says a Texas horse trainer charged with conspiring to launder money for Mexico’s powerful Zetas drug cartel has been released on bond.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Jose Gonzalez-Falla says Eusevio Maldonado Huitron was freed from federal custody Tuesday.

Gonzalez-Falla declined to discuss the bond conditions. The court did not release details.

Maldonado-Huitron ran a horse farm in Bastrop County, southeast of Austin, and is charged with helping the Zetas launder millions through quarter horse operations in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and California.

Federal prosecutors argued against his release, saying the threat of Zetas reprisals against him endangered Maldonado-Huitron, his family and the community at large.

But the judge sided with the defense, which said the Zetas had no reason to target a horse trainer.