Zetas commandant's former neighbor testifies in federal case against cartel leader

Government rests case Thursday

SAN ANTONIO – For the better part of two weeks, the federal government has called witness who characterized Marciano Millan-Vasquez as a bloodthirsty commandant in the Zetas drug cartel in Northern Mexico and as major player in the cartel’s extensive drug trafficking operation.

Millan-Vasquez is on trial in federal court facing murder, conspiracy and drug trafficking charges.

Federal prosecutors called several former members of the cartel as witnesses.

The witnesses told the jury that Millan-Vasquez was a cartel plaza boss in the town of Piedras Negras, and that he participated in the slaughter of hundreds of men, women  and children. They also told how Vasquez was involved in the shipment of thousands of kilos of cocaine and marijuana from Mexico to the U.S.

On Friday, Millan-Vasquez’s attorney, Jaime Cavazos, began calling character witnesses to testify on behalf of his client.

“He was a good father and human being,” said Alma Delia Salinas, a woman who said said she was Millan-Vasquez’s friend. 

“He was a happy person, a good father, responsible and law abiding,” said Sarah De Luna, who told the jury that she was Millan-Vasquez neighbor when he lived in San Antonio in 2015.

De Luna said Millan-Vasquez also owned a small ranch adjacent to her mother’s property in Mexico. That tracked Cavazos’s claim that his client was a hardworking man who had a ranch in Mexico.

“He had a small ranch in Mexico where he bought and sold pigs, goats and farm animals,” Cavazos said.

When the trial resumes Monday, Cavazos said he will call more character witnesses before resting Millan-Vaquez case.

Closing arguments and jury deliberations are scheduled for Tuesday. A guilty verdict could mean life in federal prison for Millan-Vasquez.

 


About the Author:

Paul Venema is a courthouse reporter for KSAT with more than 25 years experience in the role.