PECOS — On Monday, the Western District of Texas released a superseding indictment in the case of suspected cartel boss Sergio Menchaca Pizarro, also known as “El Menchaca.” The redacted indictment adds 11 as-yet-unnamed defendants to a case charging Menchaca and his associates with six counts of charges including drug trafficking, human smuggling and “continuing criminal enterprise.”
Menchaca, a U.S. citizen, was arrested last August after being apprehended by Border Patrol along the River Road near Fort Leaton. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Will Werner wrote in an affidavit that Border Patrol performed an “immigration inspection” revealing that Menchaca had crossed the border at the river and not through an official port of entry.
A week later, Judge David Fannin approved a motion by federal prosecution to detain Menchaca without bond. Assistant United States Attorney Jaime Esparza argued that Menchaca was a flight risk that “pose[d] a danger to the community” who could potentially “attempt to obstruct justice.”
In September, Menchaca was originally indicted on three counts — two marijuana-smuggling charges and one “failure to report” charge connected with his illegal entry into the United States.
Though his arrest was covered by the press in northern Mexico and the United States, court documents did not make an explicit connection between Menchaca and the La Linea cartel. That didn’t stop others from drawing conclusions — citing confidential informants, the Dallas Morning News reported that Menchaca had revealed information about the location of a mass grave connected to the disappearance of migrants believed to be kidnapped or killed in cartel crossfire in September 2021.
Monday’s superseding indictment filled in many of the blanks. Menchaca — and his unnamed co-defendants — were allegedly members of La Linea, a faction of the Juarez cartel active in the Ojinaga area.
The document outlines the general structure of the cartel, explaining that other groups could move contraband through La Linea territory for a fee — constituting a “network of criminal conspirators within Mexico.” Engaging in “continuing a criminal enterprise” is a federal crime with a minimum sentence of 20 years.
The indictment alleges that Menchaca and his associates conspired to distribute and import marijuana over a period of about 15 years. The charges for each individual assume that “1000 or more kilograms” of the narcotic was involved, carrying a minimum sentence of 10 years apiece.
The grand jury also found that drug smuggling led to other types of trafficking — namely of humans and arms. “By controlling [Ojinaga], other organizations would at times pay a fee or “piso” to La Linea in order to bring through undocumented aliens on their way to the United States,” the document explains.
La Linea also allegedly maintained “armed security forces,” also known as sicarios, “thus allowing the organization to continue its criminal activities.”
In order to carry out the leaders’ commands, the sicarios needed firearms. Possessing a firearm is illegal in Mexico, and smuggling weapons out of the United States and into Mexico is a federal crime. The indictment does not include a separate charge for firearms smuggling, but does call for “seizure and forfeiture” of these weapons.
Attorneys for both the United States and the defendants did not return requests for comment.