On, June 26, 2018, the Procuraduria General de la Republica de Mexico (PGR) arrested FBI “Ten Most Wanted Fugitive” Eduardo Ravelo, also known as “Tablas,” captain of the El Paso/Cuidad Juarez-based Barrio Azteca gang. Ravelo was arrested in Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico based upon leads from FBI El Paso and the El Paso Safe Streets Gang Task Force.

Ravelo held the rank of “Capo,” the highest rank available for the Barrio Azteca street gang. Ravelo is allegedly responsible for issuing orders to Barrio Azteca members residing in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico. Allegedly, Ravelo and the Barrio Azteca members acted as “hitmen” for the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Drug Trafficking Organization and are responsible for numerous murders.

Ravelo was wanted for his alleged involvement in the Barrio Azteca transnational gang and their money laundering, racketeering, and drug-related activities in El Paso, Texas. Additionally, he is wanted for his alleged role in the murders of a pregnant United States Consulate employee Lesley Ann Enriquez Catton, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office employee Arthur Redelfs (Catton’s husband), and Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros (husband of a United States Consulate employee), which occurred on March 13, 2010, in Cuidad Juarez.

His alleged criminal activities began in 2003. In 2008 and 2011, Ravelo was indicted in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas.

On October 20, 2009, Ravelo was the 493rd person to be placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list and is now the 485th to be captured. Ravelo is the 23rd “Ten Most Wanted Fugitive” to be arrested in Mexico.

In addition to the PGR, the FBI, El Paso Police Department, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Bureau of Prisons, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Organized Crime and Gang Section and Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas each played a significant role in this investigation and capture of Ravelo. The El Paso Texas Anti-Gang Center also provided investigative support.

FBI El Paso SAC Emmerson Buie, Jr. stated “It was eight and half years ago that we added Eduardo Ravelo to the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list. I am proud of the continuous hard work of our agents and our domestic and international law enforcement partners in apprehending this dangerous and violent fugitive.”

As in every investigation, the accused is assumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.