FBI: Barrio Azteca leader also wanted on money-laundering, racketeering charges
After spending eight and half years on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list, authorities have arrested the captain of the El Paso/Cuidad Juarez-based Barrio Azteca gang in Mexico.
On June 26th, 2018, the Procuraduria General de la Republica de Mexico (PGR) arrested FBI fugitive Eduardo Ravelo, aka “Tablas”, in Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico. Ravelo’s arrest follows after FBI El Paso and the El Paso Safe Streets Gang Taskforce reviewed leads on the the fugitive’s possible location.
Under the title of “Capo,” the highest rank available in the Barrio Azteca street gang, authorities allege Ravelo is responsible for giving orders to Barrio Azteca members in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico. In addition to his alleged involvement in the transnational gang, Ravelo was wanted by the FBI for alleged money-laundering, racketeering, and drug-related activities in El Paso, Texas.
According to authorities, Ravelo and Barrio Azteca members allegedly worked as “hitmen” for the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Drug Trafficking Organization, and as such may be responsible for numerous murders. This includes his alleged involvement in the murders of a pregnant United States Consulate employee, an El Paso County Sheriff’s Office employee, and the husband of an United States Consulate employee that occurred on March 13th, 2010, in Cuidad Juarez.
Ravelo’s criminal activities allegedly began in 2003.
On October 20, 2009, Ravelo was the 493rd person to be placed on the FBI’s “ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list, and is now the 485th to be captured. Furthermore, Ravelo is the 23rd “Ten Most Wanted Fugitive” to be arrested in Mexico. In 2008 and 2011, Ravelo was indicted in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas.
With the help of the PGR, the FBI, El Paso Police Department, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, and various other organizations, Ravelo was found and brought into custody.
“It was eight and a half years ago that we added Eduardo Ravelo to the FBI’s ‘Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list,” Said FBI El Paso SAC Emmerson Buie, Jr. “I am proud of the continuous hard work of our agents and our domestic and international law enforcement partners in apprehending this dangerous and violent fugitive.”
