New Top Ten - Barrio Azteca Leader

New Top Ten Fugitive
Leader of Violent Barrio Azteca Gang

10/20/09

Eduardo Ravelo—leader of a violent street and prison gang operating out of Juarez, Mexico—is the second of three new additions to our Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. We are offering up to $100,000 for information leading directly to his arrest.

Ravelo heads the Barrio Azteca gang in Juarez, and is charged with a variety of crimes, including racketeering, money laundering, and possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. Although he has not been charged with murder, Ravelo and his gang members are allegedly hitmen for a Mexican drug cartel and are responsible for multiple homicides.

“From everything our intelligence sources tell us,” said Special Agent Samantha Mikeska, who has been working cases related to the gang since 2003, “Ravelo is a ruthless killer who has absolutely no respect for human life.”

In Juarez, there is a war going on between rival drug cartels, said Mikeska, who works in our El Paso office, and Barrio Azteca is affiliated with one of them—the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes drug trafficking organization. The city, located on the other side of the border from El Paso, Texas, has had about 2,000 murders so far this year.

Barrio Azteca has approximately 600 active members who engage in murder, assault, extortion, human and drug trafficking, and other crimes. Many of the members are in U.S. and Mexican prisons and benefit from the gang’s illicit profits by having funds placed in their prison commissary accounts, Mikeska said. “They are well organized,” she added, “and they are dangerous.”

Ravelo, also known as “Tablas,” is believed to be in his mid-40s. He is 5-feet-9-inches tall and weighs between 150 and 180 pounds. He has a scar on his face and tattoos on his chest, abdomen, and back, although authorities believe he may have had plastic surgery and even altered his fingerprints. Ravelo is considered armed and extremely dangerous.

We need your help. If you have any information concerning Ravelo, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate or submit a tip electronically.

“If he gets picked up,” Mikeska said, “it will put a big dent in the gang’s operation.” The bottom line, she added: “Ravelo needs to be brought to justice.“

For a full list of the fugitives and missing persons we’re looking for, please visit our Wanted by the FBI webpage.

Resources:
- Ten Most Wanted Fugitives