Tirso Martinez, who ran a sophisticated train network for the Sinaloa cartel, was just sentenced to 7 years in prison. With time already served, he'll actually do about 3 years. Tirso was facing life but got a reduction for his "extraordinary" testimony at trial of Chapo Guzman.
Tirso oversaw a train route that brought 30-50 tons of coke from Mexico to US cities like Chicago, NY and LA in the late 90s and early 2000s. His lawyer had asked for time served but Judge Brian Cogan wouldn't do it.
"There's so much drugs," he said.
"There's so much drugs," he said.
Tirso also worked overseeing trains for Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, the leader of the Juarez cartel, and gave information to the US govt on Vicente too.
Interestingly, as recently as 12/2019, Tirso also gave information to the US on "a former govt official" under arrest in Mexico.
Interestingly, as recently as 12/2019, Tirso also gave information to the US on "a former govt official" under arrest in Mexico.
Tirso's trial testimony was notable not only for describing the train route (cocaine hidden in secret compartments of cooking oil) but for detailing the violent war that broke out in the early 2000s between Guzman/Sinaloa and Vicente Carrillo/Juarez.
nytimes.com/2018/12/11/nyr…
nytimes.com/2018/12/11/nyr…
Tirso also dropped a gem at trial when he testified that he once lost $1 million in cash gambling on a cockfight. His lawyer today said that cockfighting remained his only "sin," adding, "But that's not a federal crime."
"Actually," Judge Cogan noted, "I think it is."
"Actually," Judge Cogan noted, "I think it is."
