A man once reputed to be one of the most notorious regional leaders of the Juárez drug cartel pleaded guilty in U.S. district court in Albuquerque to conspiring to smuggle marijuana into the United States.
Carlos Arturo Quintana, known as “El 80,” faces five to 40 years in federal prison for his role in marijuana trafficking more than a decade ago as a member of the Juárez cartel, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico said.
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Quintana, 41, who was the police chief and the cartel plaza boss of Namiquipa, Chihuahua, pleaded guilty on Jan. 17 as part of a plea agreement. He remains jailed and is to be sentenced on March 18, according to court documents.
The marijuana case dates back to 2011 during a period when Juárez was inundated with bloodshed during the war between the Juárez and Sinaloa cartels. A federal grand jury indicted Quintana and 10 codefendants in a third superseding indictment in 2015.