HomeNewsBriefAlleged Drug Kingpin Absolved of Car Theft in El Salvador
BRIEF

Alleged Drug Kingpin Absolved of Car Theft in El Salvador

EL SALVADOR / 17 NOV 2014 BY DAVID GAGNE EN

An alleged leader of the organized crime group Texis Cartel was found not guilty on charges of running a car theft ring, highlighting El Salvador's weakness in the face of high-level criminals who often possess greater resources than the state.

On November 14, a special court for organized crime in San Salvador absolved Roberto Antonio Herrera Hernandez, alias "El Burro," of charges of running a luxury car theft operation in El Salvador and Guatemala, reported El Faro

The court cited contradictory witness testimonies in absolving Herrera and one other suspect of the charges, while 15 others implicated in the car theft ring were given prison sentences of at least six years, reported La Pagina. The only witness to testify against Herrera, known as "Tauro" claimed he had met Herrera when he handed over stolen cars to the alleged drug trafficker, but later stated they had never met in person. 

Herrera -- arrested in July 2013 for his alleged role in the luxury car theft ring -- will remain in preventive detention while under investigation for his links to drug trafficking, reported La Prensa Grafica

InSight Crime Analysis

The absolution of these charges against an alleged drug kingpin such as Herrera reflects the fact the judicial process in El Salvador is often not a fair fight between top-level criminals and the country's over-stretched state attorney's office.

Herrera is believed to be a founder of the Texis Cartel, one of Central America's most powerful criminal groups which relies on well-placed business and political contacts rather than intimidation and violence to move large quantities of cocaine.  It works with Colombian and Mexican drug trafficking groups, moving drugs through the country and beyond. Despite investigations into the Texis Cartel since the early 2000s, state authorities have been unable to prosecute any high-level figure of the criminal group. Despite evidence of financial foul play by another founder of the criminal group, Jose Adan Salazar Umaña, alias "Chepe Diablo", the money laundering case against him remains unresolved.

SEE ALSO: Texis Cartel News and Profile

The Texis Cartel's ability to leverage political and financial connections to remain free from authorities in not unique in El Salvador. The capture of the alleged drug kingpin Jorge Ernesto Ulloa Sibrian, alias "Repollo" in March 2013 revealed he received protection from police and politicians for years before his arrest. Repollo -- who allegedly collaborated with 11 criminal structures throughout Central America in moving vast quantities of cocaine to Mexico -- is currently on trial for charges of drug trafficking.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ARGENTINA / 8 FEB 2023

InSight Crime's 2022 Homicide Round-Up covers more countries than ever before, with a major expansion into nations of the Caribbean.

BELIZE / 2 JUN 2022

Since El Salvador's government began a campaign of mass arrests two months ago in a gang crackdown, fewer than 60…

BARRIO 18 / 1 MAR 2022

Fired prison employees in El Salvador have claimed they witnessed negotiations among government officials and imprisoned gang leaders, adding weight…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…