RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A Los Zetas plaza boss and a Cartel del Golfo leader with South Texas ties are among the 37 Mexican cartel members who were transferred to the U.S. on Tuesday.
Forty-two-year-old Juan Pedro Saldivar‑Farias, also known as “Z‑27,” and 41-year-old Ricardo Cortez-Mateos, also known as “Billeton”, were transferred to U.S. custody to face court proceedings for offenses related to drug trafficking or leading a criminal enterprise.
Both men were indicted in separate cases in 2021 in the Southern District of Texas, and have appeared in a federal court in Houston to face the charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Federal authorities say Saldivar‑Farias was a Zeta Regional Commander and Plaza Boss in the Falcon Lake area of South Texas who oversaw the movement of large quantities of narcotics into the U.S.
Investigators estimated that several tons of marijuana were smuggled across the border each week through the area, along with multi‑ton shipments of cocaine monthly…