A longtime fugitive suspected of being a large-scale methamphetamine importer from his native Mexico and a ranking member of one of Mexico's most violent and notorious cartels was arrested late last month by Mexican authorities and returned to Arkansas where he is charged in three separate federal indictments.
The U.S. attorney's office in Little Rock confirmed that Gabriel "Moyo" Aguirre was arrested by Mexican authorities in late November after six years on the run in Mexico and was returned to Little Rock where he was immediately arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration agents. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Givens said Monday that Aguirre was a subject of what is called a provisional arrest warrant that was transmitted to Mexican authorities.
"Anytime a non-U.S. citizen is indicted and that person is in another country we basically have to ask that country for permission to prosecute," Givens said. "We basically told the Mexican government here's what he did, here's our evidence against your guy and will you help us arrest him and give him to us."
At that point, Givens said, what was required was the agreement of the Mexican government to assist after which prosecutors then had to wait.
"It's a long process, as you can imagine," he said. "But, they agreed, he's been arrested and now we've got him."
Aguirre, 42, who is also known as "El Padrino," which is Spanish for "The Godfather," is named in three drug conspiracy indictments in the Eastern District of Arkansas dating from 2014, 2017 and 2020. Givens said he will be prosecuted for conduct contained in the 2017 indictment accusing him of responsibility for distributing more than 500 grams of methamphetamine in central Arkansas. In reality, Givens said, Aguirre is believed to be responsible for importing "thousands of kilograms" of methamphetamine into the U.S. over the past decade. He is a member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel -- known as the CJNG -- which the U.S. Department of Justice has called "one of the five most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world, responsible for trafficking many tons of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl-laced heroin into the United States, as well as for violence and significant loss of life in Mexico."
"He's named in three cases because he is big-time," Givens said. "He's one of the largest guys we've dealt with in awhile. He's a cartel guy."
Givens said plans at this time are to prosecute Aguirre on the 2017 indictment, which named him along with 21 other people in a drug conspiracy believed to have been run by Javier Colin-Flores, who was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in July 2021 by Chief U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Bryant, who prosecuted the case, had asked Marshall to sentence Colin-Flores to 22 years in prison.
To date, all but two of the 22 defendants in that indictment-- Aguirre and Carla Thompson of Little Rock -- have been sentenced.
"We submitted the provisional arrest warrant on the 2017 case," Givens said. "That's what we're moving forward on right now. We can't move forward on the 2020 case because we haven't told the Mexican government about that conduct yet so we're only allowed to go forward on the 2017 case.
"But," Givens continued, "we are going forward on the 2017 case. That is the most significant case."
Givens said any decision on other prosecutions will be made after the 2017 indictment is resolved. He said if Aguirre is convicted and receives a significant prison term in the 2017 case, "there's no reason to reinvent the wheel when it comes to the 2014 and 2020 indictments."
Givens said the capture of Aguirre is significant.
"He is probably one of the biggest drug dealers we've prosecuted around here in a while," he said. "He is cartel, boss-level stuff and he has directed thousands of kilos of methamphetamine into Arkansas ... He's very well connected, that's for sure."
If convicted, Givens said, Aguirre faces a range of sentencing from 10 years to life in prison and a maximum $10 million fine.
At a hearing on Nov. 29, U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Volpe ordered Aguirre to be detained and appointed Sylvester Smith III of North Little Rock to represent him. On Friday, Marshall set a date of June 26 of next year for Aguirre to be tried in front of a jury.
Aguirre is currently being held in the Pulaski County jail where he has been since Nov. 25, according to the online jail roster.