DEL RIO, Texas – Seven members of the Partido Revolucionario Mexicano (PRM) prison gang were recently sentenced to a combined 137 years in prison in a Del Rio court, according to the Department of Justice.
Victor Hinojosa, Martha Gonzalez Ritchie, Jesus Espinoza, Francisco Espinoza, Ernesto Magdaleno, Armando Ramirez and Danny Suarez were arrested on June 11, 2021, in connection with a cocaine trafficking operation along the border, the DOJ said in a news release.
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Federal authorities said the gang members, all from Eagle Pass, aided in daily drug trafficking from March 1, 2019, to June 1, 2021, in and around Eagle Pass and Del Rio.
The department identified Hinojosa, also known as “Zuko,” as a sergeant of the PRM who communicated through text about cocaine distribution. Jesus and Francisco Espinoza, Suarez and another co-defendant would supply the drugs for Hinojosa, the DOJ said.
Hinojosa, Jesus Espinoza and Francisco Espinoza pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, the DOJ said. Ritchie pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin.
On June 5, Hinojosa and Ritchie were sentenced to 30 years in prison each, while Jesus and Francisco Espinoza were sentenced to 17 years and six months and 19 years and six months, respectively, the department said.
On June 13, Suarez was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and both Magdeleno and Ramirez received 14-year sentences, the DOJ said.
Nine other co-defendants await sentence hearings.
“PRM is a violent prison gang that operates on both sides (of) the U.S.-Mexico border,” said U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Justin Simmons.
“These PRM members who have been convicted and sentenced should reemphasize to other narcoterrorists the level of our resolve when it comes to the eradication of transnational criminal organizations and providing safer border communities,” he said in the news release.
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