NewsWest 9
MIDLAND- A high-security trial is underway this week in Midland. Members of a prominent prison gang are accused of drug trafficking and racketeering, among other charges.
All five men on trial are tied to the Barrio Azteca. It's a gang you can only join if you've served time in federal prison.
Last summer, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Midland Police Department helped take down the men who they say were involved with all sorts of illegal activity, including robbery, attempted murder, assault and running marijuana and cocaine throughout the Midland-Odessa region. The indictment alleges they've been doing it since 2006.
If convicted, each of the five men could face life in prison. During the trial this week and throughout next week, the U.S. Marshals Office is making itself more visible at the federal courthouse.
They say these men's gang affiliation is nothing to take lightly.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Phil Maxwell tells NewsWest 9, "On the outside of the courthouse, we do have a strong showing of security. A strong presence of security out there and people will see us out there with rifles and tactical gear and things like that and we just want everybody to know that we are very serious about our security and that's why we make that presence well known."
An undercover narcotics investigator at the Ector County Sheriff's Office told NewsWest 9 the Barrio Azteca gang is strongest out of El Paso, but they has prominent cells in other parts of the country, including the Permian Basin. They are notorious for their tattoos with Mayan symbols and gods. They also have strong ties to the Juárez cartel.
