*Updated Nov. 18, 2013*
Managua -
A Mérida woman who was arrested in Nicaragua last August while traveling in a convoy carrying $9.2 million dollars in cash has been convicted of money laundering, drug trafficking and organized crime activity in a district criminal court here.
Juana Raquel Alvarado Torres was detained along with 17 other Mexican nationals while the group passed through the country in vehicles displaying the Televisa corporate logo. They told authorities they were employees of the mega Spanish language network, and carried a credential purportedly signed by a corporate vice president, asking officials to assist them as they went about "journalistic duties." But Televisa has said that it knows nothing about the suspects, and is an innocent victim of their cash smuggling operations.
During their trial, which ended this week, prosecutors presented evidence that Alvarado Torres, 39, was the unquestioned leader of the group. From 2008-2012 five of the conspirators made up to 44 trips between Central America and Mexico. The vehicles they used revealed traces of cocaine, said Nicaraguan investigators.
On Aug. 24, agents of Mexico's federal Organized Crime Strike Force (SEIDO) executed search warrants at Mérida residences belonging to Alvarado Torres. The properties searched, which were described as luxury, included several homes in upscale Colonia Altabrisa. A 60 acre ranch owed by Alvarado Torres in Teya, Yucatán, on the outskirts of Mérida, was also raided by SEIDO agents.
News services report that Alvarado purchased 12 lots in Altabrisa's Marsella subdivision in 2010-11, and built homes on five. Federal Police agents participated in the surprise, early morning operation, hauling out boxes of key business records and financial documents from a safe found in one of the homes.
The fair market value of five homes and four luxury vehicles which federal strike force agents seized, all held in the name of Juana Alvarado Torres, was estimated at 40 million pesos - well over $3 million dollars. Personal property seized included two Porsches and a Cadillac Escalade SUV. Documents uncovered during the Colonia Altabrisa raid strongly suggested Alvarado Torres was involved in drug trafficking and money laundering operations, according to local news services.
Today a Managua judge agreed, finding that the evidence proved she and her confederates were part of a band dedicated to moving narcotics and cash between Central America and Mexico. The judge has set sentencing for January 18. Prosecutors have said they'll seek the maximum term of 30 years.
Dec. 26 - Drug traffickers have completely infiltrated the nation's judicial and prosecutorial systems, according to Guatemala's attorney general. In public statements she placed primary responsibility on the Mexican drug cartel Los Zetas, which has significantly shifted operations southward to escape Mexican military forces. "Organized crime has the power to corrupt, because it has so much money," said Claudia Paz, the nation's top prosecutor, in an interview published today.
Jan. 4, 2013 - Nicaragua authorities say that the 18 conspirators will soon be extradited to Mexico, to serve out the sentences which are scheduled to be imposed two weeks from today.
Jan. 18 - Alvarado Torres and her band of 17 confederates, of which she was the unquestioned boss, were sentenced to 30 years in prison by a criminal court in Managua today. All were convicted of drug trafficking, money laundering and participation in an organized criminal enterprise. Where they'll serve the jail time is still unresolved. The $9.2 million cash was forfeited to the Nicaraguan government.
Alvarado Torres didn't take the sentence announcement well, as these photos by Por Esto! reveal.
Nov. 18 - Mérida narco queen gets sentence reduction, is deported from Nicaragua
Oct. 25 - The drug dealer in pinstripes
Oct. 24 - Mexico's Organized Crime Strike Force searches Mérida homes of Yucatán narco queen
Oct. 17 - Narcos invest in Mérida luxury homes
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