Cartel Member Killed In El Paso Feared For His Life
August 12, 2009 by national
Filed under Incident Reports
A Mexican man who was allegedly killed on orders from his own cartel believed they were hunting for him after he began working as an informant and was fearful for his life, according to court documents. Jose Daniel Gonzalez Galeana began to worry after he began working as an informant for immigration officials in the United States.
“The victim was concerned for his own well-being and the safety of his family,” the documents said, referencing statements the victim made to a witness.
When Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials gave Gonzalez a visa so he could live in El Paso, Texas, his fellow Juarez cartel members began to get suspicious, El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said at a press conference.
Allen said Gonzalez’s exit from Mexico, combined with a raid on a cartel warehouse and the arrest of cartel lieutenant Pedro “El Tigre” Aranas Sanchez led cartel members to believe he might be working as an informant, Allen said.
Then, a Mexican newspaper named Gonzalez as an informant in the arrest of the high-ranking cartel member, according to court documents. Police say Gonzales quickly became the target of his own cartel.
Police said Gonzalez knew if his fellow cartel members found him, he would likely be killed, police said.
On May 15, the cartel found him.
