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Juan Matta-Ballesteros

Juan Ramón Matta-Ballesteros (born January 12, 1945) (also spelled Mata-Ballesteros) is a Honduran former major narcotics trafficker who has been credited with being one of the first to connect Mexican drug traffickers with the Colombian cocaine cartels. This connection paved the way for a major increase in the amount of cocaine smuggled into the United States during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Matta was indicted for operating several major cocaine smuggling rings in United States in the early 1980s. He was also one of the narcotics traffickers accused of the kidnap and murder of American DEA agent Enrique Camarena in 1985.

Juan Ramón Matta-Ballesteros
Born (1945-01-12) January 12, 1945 (age 79)
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Other namesEl Negro
Occupation(s)former Drug lord, Medellín Cartel
Criminal statusIncarcerated at MCFP Springfield
SpouseNancy de Matta
ChildrenClaudia Matta, Juan Ramón Matta, and Maria Matta
Criminal chargeDrug trafficking, murder, kidnapping
PenaltyLife imprisonment

In 1988 Matta was arrested at his Honduran residence in a controversial operation by the Honduran and American governments and taken to the United States, where he stood several trials for his drug smuggling activities and his part in the kidnap and murder of Enrique Camarena. He was found guilty of drug smuggling, and of participating in the kidnapping, but not the murder, of Camarena. In 2017, his conviction in the Camarena kidnapping was overturned because of the flawed forensic evidence used in his trial. A new trial was ordered, but in 2018 prosecutors decided to drop the charges.

Matta remains in prison, serving a life sentence for his drug sentence at the United States Penitentiary, Canaan, a high-security federal prison in Pennsylvania.[citation needed]. As of February 2021, he is serving his sentence at the US Medical Center for Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.

Early career edit

Details of Matta's early life and career are uncertain. According to a website put up by his family, he was born in Tegucigalpa, the second of four children.[1] A number of newspaper sources claim that Mata immigrated illegally to the United States as a teenager and was deported several times, returning each time under a different name.[2] In 1970 he was convicted of entering the country on a false passport and confined at the Federal prison camp in Eglin, Florida. He escaped from the camp the following year.[3][4] In 1974 Mexican authorities arrested Matta for selling 10 kilograms of cocaine. He spent a year in prison, and was suspected of killing two other prisoners while incarcerated.[5]

1980s Drug U. S. Smuggling Operations and Indictments edit

In the early 1980s, Matta was involved with major cocaine smuggling operations. In 1984, he was indicted for his role in a Van Nuys smuggling ring. The discovery of the ring in 1981 resulted in the seizure of 114 pounds of cocaine and $1.9 million in cash, and based on ledgers found with the drugs, prosecutors later estimated that the ring had generated $73 million in just nine months.[6] In 1985, Matta was again indicted for his role in a major cocaine smuggling ring operating in Arizona and southern California. The ring was discovered in 1984, resulting in the seizure of about a ton of cocaine and $7.8 million in cash.[7]

Involvement in Camarena Kidnap-Murder edit

Soon after the February 1985 kidnap-murder of U.S. DEA agent Enrique Camarena, Matta was suspected of involvement, and he was later indicted for his part in the kidnapping. According to journalist Elaine Shannon, Matta was actually located in Mexico City several days after Camarena's kidnapping, but his arrest was delayed by Mexican authorities and he managed to flee the country.[8] U. S. law enforcement continued to track Matta, and in April 1985, they traced him to the Colombian city of Cartagena. At the DEA's request, Matta was arrested by the Colombian government.[9] In March 1986, while extradition proceedings were still underway, Matta escaped from prison, according to some accounts by bribing prison authorities.[10] Later that year, Matta returned to his native country of Honduras.[11]

Arrest and removal to U.S. edit

The Honduran Constitution prohibited the extradition of Honduran citizens, and for two years Honduran authorities rejected U.S. requests to extradite Matta. Finally, in April 1988, Honduran police arrested Matta and put him on a plane to the Dominican Republic. The Dominican government then put him on a flight to Puerto Rico with United States Marshals, who arrested Matta when they reached United States territory.[12] The day after Matta's extradition, 1,000 to 2,000 students from the National Autonomous University in Tegucigalpa marched on the U.S. embassy to protest. During the protests, which lasted for two days, the embassy was set on fire, and five students were killed.[12]

Conviction and incarceration edit

Like other notable players in the Camarena case, Rafael Caro Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo and Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Matta was eventually convicted as one of the masterminds behind the 1985 kidnapping, torture and murder of U.S. DEA Agent Enrique Camarena in Guadalajara, Mexico. Further, Matta was later convicted for operating an importation and cocaine distribution ring into Van Nuys, California.[citation needed]

Matta appealed his conviction several times. Finally, in 1995, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that the United States Supreme Court, in a 1992 ruling on another defendant in the same case, had upheld the prosecution of a fugitive who was brought to the United States by kidnapping rather than extradition.[13]

Matta also appealed on the grounds that he was beaten and burned with an electric stun gun while being transported to the United States. A Federal judge in Los Angeles had previously found the evidence for his claims inconclusive, and the Court of Appeals declined to overturn that ruling.[2]

Matta is currently being held at the United States Penitentiary, Canaan, a high-security federal prison in Pennsylvania.[14][failed verification]

Matta's Role in the Guadalajara cartel edit

Several writers have claimed that Matta played an important role in the formation of the Guadalajara cartel, brokering some of the earliest deals between Colombian cocaine suppliers and Mexico-based smugglers, and starting Mexican smugglers in the business of transporting Colombian cocaine into the U.S. By 1975, Matta had formed an alliance with the Mexican drug lord Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo("El Padrino"), and with them the Guadalajara Cartel began to take shape.[5][15]

By the late 1980s, Matta had become extremely wealthy and employed thousands of people in the businesses he owned. Matta also possessed investments in coffee, tobacco, spice, cattle, and dairy operations and founded several agricultural and construction firms in Honduras. A U.S. court of appeals estimated that Matta and Felix Gallardo were pulling in more than $5 million per week from their drug trafficking activity alone, and these businesses helped Matta launder much of these illicit earnings. In 1982, DEA agents reported that Matta had paid $50 million to Bolivian and other Latin American officials to protect his narcotics operations from law enforcement harassment.[16]

Matta-Ballesteros and the Contras edit

A United States Senate investigation found that an air transport company controlled by Matta was used by the U. S. government to supply the anti-government Contra rebels in Nicaragua. According to the Kerry Committee report, the Honduran airline SETCO was "the principal company used by the Contras in Honduras to transport supplies and personnel for the Honduras-based FDN (one of the earliest Contra groups), carrying at least a million rounds of ammunition, food, uniforms and other military supplies for the Contras from 1983 to 1985".[17] According to a 1983 U.S. Customs report that the Kerry Committee report cites, "SETCO aviation is a corporation formed by American businessmen who are dealing with Matta and are smuggling narcotics into the United States."[17]

Dismissal of Camarena kidnapping charges edit

Matta-Ballesteros was originally charged with participating in the kidnapping, but not the murder, of DEA agent Enrique Camarena. The first basis for this charge was testimony from Hector Cervantes Santos, who was in charge of security for a cartel attorney. Cervantes testified that Matta was present when the Camarena kidnapping was discussed at the attorney's house. The second basis was testimony from FBI forensics specialist Michael Malone that hair and fiber evidence tied Matta to the house where Camarena was held.

Cervantes Santos later recanted and re-recanted his testimony several times. Based on this Matta filed for a new trial, but a hearing in 1998 found that Cervantes' recantations were not reliable. In 2014, however, the Department of Justice Inspector General determined that Malone's forensic methods were also not reliable. Matta filed for a new trial again, and in 2017 Judge John Kronstadt vacated Matta's convictions on the kidnapping charges, ordering a new trial. In December 2018, the prosecution announced that it would drop the kidnapping charges (Matta was already serving a life sentence without parole for drug smuggling).[18]

In popular culture edit

In Narcos: Mexico Season 1, he was played by Vladimir Cruz.

References edit

  1. ^ "Juan Ramón Mata – Origenes". Retrieved 2016-10-22.
  2. ^ a b Rohter, Larry (1988-04-16). "Seized Honduran: Drug Baron or a Robin Hood?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-10-25.|
  3. ^ Weinstein, Henry (1989-07-26). "Jury Picked in Trial of Alleged Drug Kingpin". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  4. ^ Writers Julie Bunck and Michael Fowler claim that at the time of this arrest, Matta was carrying 24.1 kilograms of cocaine. Bunck, Julie M.; Fowler, Michael R. (2012). Bribes, Bullets, and Intimidation: Drug Trafficking and the Law in Central America. Penn State Press. p. 271. ISBN 9780271048666.
  5. ^ a b Bunck, Julie M.; Fowler, Michael R. (2012). Bribes, Bullets, and Intimidation: Drug Trafficking and the Law in Central America. Penn State Press. p. 272. ISBN 9780271048666.
  6. ^ Weinstein, Henry (1989-09-07). "Major Drug Ring Leader Is Convicted". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  7. ^ Weinstein, Henry (1991-01-09). "Matta Guilty of Running Drug Ring in Two States". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  8. ^ Shannon, Elaine (1988). Desperados: Latin drug lords, U.S. lawmen, and the war America can't win. New York: Viking. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-670-81026-0.
  9. ^ Shannon, Elaine (1988). Desperados: Latin drug lords, U.S. lawmen, and the war America can't win. New York: Viking. p. 286. ISBN 978-0-670-81026-0.
  10. ^ Gugliotta, Guy; Leen, Jeff (1989). Kings of Cocaine: Inside the Medellín Cartel. Simon and Schuster. p. 124. ISBN 0671649574.
  11. ^ Ring, Wilson (1988-03-02). "Local Hero Can't Run From His Reputation As Drug-dealer King". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  12. ^ a b Magnuson, Ed; Ring, Wilson; Shannon, Elaine (1988-04-18). "Trouble in Tegucigalpa A daring U.S. abduction triggers riots in Honduras". Time. Vol. 131, no. 16. p. 29. ISSN 0040-781X.
  13. ^ AP (1995-12-03). "Drug Figure Loses Appeal Against U.S." New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  14. ^ "Inmate Locator".
  15. ^ Lupsha, Peter (1995). "Transnational narco-corruption and narco-investment: A Focus on Mexico". reprinted by PBS Frontline: Murder, Money and Mexico. Retrieved 2010-02-08. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ^ Bunck, Julie M.; Fowler, Michael R. (2012). Bribes, Bullets, and Intimidation: Drug Trafficking and the Law in Central America. Penn State Press. pp. 275–276. ISBN 9780271048666.
  17. ^ a b Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Communications and International Economic Policy, Trade, Oceans, and Environment of the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate (December 1988). Drugs, law enforcement, and foreign policy: A report. Washington: GPO. p. 44. Retrieved 2015-03-14. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Juan Matta Ballesteros - National Registry of Exonerations". Retrieved 2020-07-24.

juan, matta, ballesteros, this, spanish, name, first, paternal, surname, matta, second, maternal, family, name, ballesteros, juan, ramón, matta, ballesteros, born, january, 1945, also, spelled, mata, ballesteros, honduran, former, major, narcotics, trafficker,. In this Spanish name the first or paternal surname is Matta and the second or maternal family name is Ballesteros Juan Ramon Matta Ballesteros born January 12 1945 also spelled Mata Ballesteros is a Honduran former major narcotics trafficker who has been credited with being one of the first to connect Mexican drug traffickers with the Colombian cocaine cartels This connection paved the way for a major increase in the amount of cocaine smuggled into the United States during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s Matta was indicted for operating several major cocaine smuggling rings in United States in the early 1980s He was also one of the narcotics traffickers accused of the kidnap and murder of American DEA agent Enrique Camarena in 1985 Juan Ramon Matta BallesterosBorn 1945 01 12 January 12 1945 age 79 Tegucigalpa HondurasOther namesEl NegroOccupation s former Drug lord Medellin CartelCriminal statusIncarcerated at MCFP SpringfieldSpouseNancy de MattaChildrenClaudia Matta Juan Ramon Matta and Maria MattaCriminal chargeDrug trafficking murder kidnappingPenaltyLife imprisonment In 1988 Matta was arrested at his Honduran residence in a controversial operation by the Honduran and American governments and taken to the United States where he stood several trials for his drug smuggling activities and his part in the kidnap and murder of Enrique Camarena He was found guilty of drug smuggling and of participating in the kidnapping but not the murder of Camarena In 2017 his conviction in the Camarena kidnapping was overturned because of the flawed forensic evidence used in his trial A new trial was ordered but in 2018 prosecutors decided to drop the charges Matta remains in prison serving a life sentence for his drug sentence at the United States Penitentiary Canaan a high security federal prison in Pennsylvania citation needed As of February 2021 he is serving his sentence at the US Medical Center for Prisoners in Springfield Missouri Contents 1 Early career 2 1980s Drug U S Smuggling Operations and Indictments 3 Involvement in Camarena Kidnap Murder 4 Arrest and removal to U S 5 Conviction and incarceration 6 Matta s Role in the Guadalajara cartel 7 Matta Ballesteros and the Contras 8 Dismissal of Camarena kidnapping charges 9 In popular culture 10 ReferencesEarly career editDetails of Matta s early life and career are uncertain According to a website put up by his family he was born in Tegucigalpa the second of four children 1 A number of newspaper sources claim that Mata immigrated illegally to the United States as a teenager and was deported several times returning each time under a different name 2 In 1970 he was convicted of entering the country on a false passport and confined at the Federal prison camp in Eglin Florida He escaped from the camp the following year 3 4 In 1974 Mexican authorities arrested Matta for selling 10 kilograms of cocaine He spent a year in prison and was suspected of killing two other prisoners while incarcerated 5 1980s Drug U S Smuggling Operations and Indictments editIn the early 1980s Matta was involved with major cocaine smuggling operations In 1984 he was indicted for his role in a Van Nuys smuggling ring The discovery of the ring in 1981 resulted in the seizure of 114 pounds of cocaine and 1 9 million in cash and based on ledgers found with the drugs prosecutors later estimated that the ring had generated 73 million in just nine months 6 In 1985 Matta was again indicted for his role in a major cocaine smuggling ring operating in Arizona and southern California The ring was discovered in 1984 resulting in the seizure of about a ton of cocaine and 7 8 million in cash 7 Involvement in Camarena Kidnap Murder editSoon after the February 1985 kidnap murder of U S DEA agent Enrique Camarena Matta was suspected of involvement and he was later indicted for his part in the kidnapping According to journalist Elaine Shannon Matta was actually located in Mexico City several days after Camarena s kidnapping but his arrest was delayed by Mexican authorities and he managed to flee the country 8 U S law enforcement continued to track Matta and in April 1985 they traced him to the Colombian city of Cartagena At the DEA s request Matta was arrested by the Colombian government 9 In March 1986 while extradition proceedings were still underway Matta escaped from prison according to some accounts by bribing prison authorities 10 Later that year Matta returned to his native country of Honduras 11 Arrest and removal to U S editThe Honduran Constitution prohibited the extradition of Honduran citizens and for two years Honduran authorities rejected U S requests to extradite Matta Finally in April 1988 Honduran police arrested Matta and put him on a plane to the Dominican Republic The Dominican government then put him on a flight to Puerto Rico with United States Marshals who arrested Matta when they reached United States territory 12 The day after Matta s extradition 1 000 to 2 000 students from the National Autonomous University in Tegucigalpa marched on the U S embassy to protest During the protests which lasted for two days the embassy was set on fire and five students were killed 12 Conviction and incarceration editLike other notable players in the Camarena case Rafael Caro Quintero Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo and Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo Matta was eventually convicted as one of the masterminds behind the 1985 kidnapping torture and murder of U S DEA Agent Enrique Camarena in Guadalajara Mexico Further Matta was later convicted for operating an importation and cocaine distribution ring into Van Nuys California citation needed Matta appealed his conviction several times Finally in 1995 the U S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that the United States Supreme Court in a 1992 ruling on another defendant in the same case had upheld the prosecution of a fugitive who was brought to the United States by kidnapping rather than extradition 13 Matta also appealed on the grounds that he was beaten and burned with an electric stun gun while being transported to the United States A Federal judge in Los Angeles had previously found the evidence for his claims inconclusive and the Court of Appeals declined to overturn that ruling 2 Matta is currently being held at the United States Penitentiary Canaan a high security federal prison in Pennsylvania 14 failed verification Matta s Role in the Guadalajara cartel editSeveral writers have claimed that Matta played an important role in the formation of the Guadalajara cartel brokering some of the earliest deals between Colombian cocaine suppliers and Mexico based smugglers and starting Mexican smugglers in the business of transporting Colombian cocaine into the U S By 1975 Matta had formed an alliance with the Mexican drug lord Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo El Padrino and with them the Guadalajara Cartel began to take shape 5 15 By the late 1980s Matta had become extremely wealthy and employed thousands of people in the businesses he owned Matta also possessed investments in coffee tobacco spice cattle and dairy operations and founded several agricultural and construction firms in Honduras A U S court of appeals estimated that Matta and Felix Gallardo were pulling in more than 5 million per week from their drug trafficking activity alone and these businesses helped Matta launder much of these illicit earnings In 1982 DEA agents reported that Matta had paid 50 million to Bolivian and other Latin American officials to protect his narcotics operations from law enforcement harassment 16 Matta Ballesteros and the Contras editSee also Illegal drug trade in Honduras and Allegations of CIA drug trafficking A United States Senate investigation found that an air transport company controlled by Matta was used by the U S government to supply the anti government Contra rebels in Nicaragua According to the Kerry Committee report the Honduran airline SETCO was the principal company used by the Contras in Honduras to transport supplies and personnel for the Honduras based FDN one of the earliest Contra groups carrying at least a million rounds of ammunition food uniforms and other military supplies for the Contras from 1983 to 1985 17 According to a 1983 U S Customs report that the Kerry Committee report cites SETCO aviation is a corporation formed by American businessmen who are dealing with Matta and are smuggling narcotics into the United States 17 Dismissal of Camarena kidnapping charges editMatta Ballesteros was originally charged with participating in the kidnapping but not the murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena The first basis for this charge was testimony from Hector Cervantes Santos who was in charge of security for a cartel attorney Cervantes testified that Matta was present when the Camarena kidnapping was discussed at the attorney s house The second basis was testimony from FBI forensics specialist Michael Malone that hair and fiber evidence tied Matta to the house where Camarena was held Cervantes Santos later recanted and re recanted his testimony several times Based on this Matta filed for a new trial but a hearing in 1998 found that Cervantes recantations were not reliable In 2014 however the Department of Justice Inspector General determined that Malone s forensic methods were also not reliable Matta filed for a new trial again and in 2017 Judge John Kronstadt vacated Matta s convictions on the kidnapping charges ordering a new trial In December 2018 the prosecution announced that it would drop the kidnapping charges Matta was already serving a life sentence without parole for drug smuggling 18 In popular culture editIn Narcos Mexico Season 1 he was played by Vladimir Cruz References editThis biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Juan Matta Ballesteros news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message Juan Ramon Mata Origenes Retrieved 2016 10 22 a b Rohter Larry 1988 04 16 Seized Honduran Drug Baron or a Robin Hood The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2016 10 25 Weinstein Henry 1989 07 26 Jury Picked in Trial of Alleged Drug Kingpin Los Angeles Times ISSN 0458 3035 Retrieved 2016 10 21 Writers Julie Bunck and Michael Fowler claim that at the time of this arrest Matta was carrying 24 1 kilograms of cocaine Bunck Julie M Fowler Michael R 2012 Bribes Bullets and Intimidation Drug Trafficking and the Law in Central America Penn State Press p 271 ISBN 9780271048666 a b Bunck Julie M Fowler Michael R 2012 Bribes Bullets and Intimidation Drug Trafficking and the Law in Central America Penn State Press p 272 ISBN 9780271048666 Weinstein Henry 1989 09 07 Major Drug Ring Leader Is Convicted Los Angeles Times ISSN 0458 3035 Retrieved 2016 10 21 Weinstein Henry 1991 01 09 Matta Guilty of Running Drug Ring in Two States Los Angeles Times ISSN 0458 3035 Retrieved 2016 10 21 Shannon Elaine 1988 Desperados Latin drug lords U S lawmen and the war America can t win New York Viking p 226 ISBN 978 0 670 81026 0 Shannon Elaine 1988 Desperados Latin drug lords U S lawmen and the war America can t win New York Viking p 286 ISBN 978 0 670 81026 0 Gugliotta Guy Leen Jeff 1989 Kings of Cocaine Inside the Medellin Cartel Simon and Schuster p 124 ISBN 0671649574 Ring Wilson 1988 03 02 Local Hero Can t Run From His Reputation As Drug dealer King Chicago Tribune Retrieved 2016 10 21 a b Magnuson Ed Ring Wilson Shannon Elaine 1988 04 18 Trouble in Tegucigalpa A daring U S abduction triggers riots in Honduras Time Vol 131 no 16 p 29 ISSN 0040 781X AP 1995 12 03 Drug Figure Loses Appeal Against U S New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2016 10 20 Inmate Locator Lupsha Peter 1995 Transnational narco corruption and narco investment A Focus on Mexico reprinted by PBS Frontline Murder Money and Mexico Retrieved 2010 02 08 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Bunck Julie M Fowler Michael R 2012 Bribes Bullets and Intimidation Drug Trafficking and the Law in Central America Penn State Press pp 275 276 ISBN 9780271048666 a b Subcommittee on Terrorism Narcotics and International Communications and International Economic Policy Trade Oceans and Environment of the Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate December 1988 Drugs law enforcement and foreign policy A report Washington GPO p 44 Retrieved 2015 03 14 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a last has generic name help CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Juan Matta Ballesteros National Registry of Exonerations Retrieved 2020 07 24 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Juan Matta Ballesteros amp oldid 1203642022, 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