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Monday, June 18, 2012

Despite FBI Warning His Life is in Danger, Trevino's Horse Trainer is Released

Borderland Beat Chivis Martinez

Only time will tell who was in the right with this man.  Or if he skips town. First the backstory then the decision by the judge.Paz, Chivis
 An FBI agent says a Texas horse trainer accused of helping a Mexican drug cartel launder money would potentially be in danger from the cartel if released on bail.

Federal prosecutors Friday sought to keep Eusevio Maldonado Huitron in custody. The 48-year-old who trains horses near Austin is charged with conspiracy to launder money and was arrested as part of a nationwide sweep that included two reputed leaders in the Zetas drug gang.

FBI agent Haskell Wilkins testified that Huitron likely would flee "to avoid retaliation" from the cartel if released. The hearing is scheduled to continue Monday, and Maldonado will remain in jail until then.

The Zetas have been accused of smuggling thousands of tons of drugs into the United States and dismembering rivals.


He is Released But Remains in Custody  (AP Wire)


 A federal judge ruled Monday that a Texas horse trainer charged with conspiring to launder money for Mexico's powerful Zetas drug cartel should be released on bail, rejecting the prosecution's argument that the threat of cartel reprisals against him was so severe it could harm the surrounding community.
Eusevio Maldonado-Huitron remained in custody because federal prosecutors said they will appeal the decision. Hours later, however, federal prosecutors filed a motion to withdraw their appeal, clearing the way for Maldonado-Huitron's release soon.
Maldonado-Huitron ran a horse farm in Bastrop County southeast of Austin and is among 15 people charged with helping the Zetas launder millions of dollars through quarter horse operations in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and California.
After listening to a string of witnesses in a bail hearing that stretched over two days, U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Austin said he was setting conditions for Maldonado-Huitron's release, but he didn't immediately make them public.
Prosecutors conceded that they had no evidence Maldonado-Huitron was violent but said there was a risk he could flee to Mexico and disappear given his family ties in that country. However, the greater danger in releasing him from federal custody, they argued, was the threat posed by the Zetas targeting him and his family - and by extension, the community at large.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Fernald said she was limited on what she could say in open court prior to trial. But she argued that Maldonado-Huitron should remain in custody given the "nature and seriousness of the danger to any member of the community," due to both "the nature of this organization and the seriousness of the potential retaliation, not just to him but to his family members and anyone else."
That argument was based on testimony Friday from FBI agent Haskell Wilkins, who said the defendant was a serious flight risk due to the possibility he could be targeted by the Zetas.
But Maldonado-Huitron's attorney, assistant federal Public Defender Jose Gonzalez-Falla, countered Monday that "we haven't heard anything to indicate" his client's guilt. He said prosecutors' arguments of "'trust us, it's in the indictment'" is not enough.
Gonzalez-Falla said Maldonado-Huitron is an illiterate horse trainer who poses no threat to the Zetas. An associate of Maldonado-Huitron's from El Paso testified Monday that the trainer was actually dismissed weeks before his arrest because his horses were underperforming, which the defense attorney said meant his client was now even less important in the eyes of the cartel.
"Why on earth would they hit my client?" he asked. "What has he done? He's a horse trainer."
Also testifying Monday was Maldonado-Huitron's brother, Jesus, who when asked if he knew what the Zetas were answered through an interpreter, "just what you hear on TV."
"From what they say, they killed a lot of people in Mexico and then they toss the bodies out," the elder Maldonado-Huitron testified.
Gonzalez-Falla said his client had a right to get paid for his services no matter who hired him, adding that the government's arguments were based only on "a bunch of rumors about receiving some money." He said prosecutors feared the ferociousness of any possible reprisals, "just because they're the Zetas and they're bad and they kill people and take their heads off."
"What does that have to do with my client?" he asked.
Austin sided with the defense, saying Maldonado-Huitron's family might be targeted, but that the threat was no less acute if the defendant was in prison. He said the only risk to the lager community he could see might be "someone's horse might get beat in a race if Mr. Huitron trains the horse."
Austin also said he appreciated the flight risk but couldn't imagine the defendant fleeing to Mexico given how powerful the Zetas are there.
Maldonado-Huitron is "frankly, a lot better off in the United States than in Mexico, which is the only place I can see he'd flee to," the judge said.
 Sources:  AP WIRE-KTVN-KVUE

18 comments:

  1. The poor client, the horse trainer, I am sure he knew nothing,saw nothing,etc. ya,ya,ya. Lay down with dogs get up with fleas.

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    1. Trust me man most trainers arent involved they're just like any other person trying to make a living.He might of got paid a little more and looked the other way but I wouldn't be quick to judge......narrow minded dumbass.

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  2. ...,,,He's bait.....

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  3. You sometimes people are at the wrong place at the wrong time, but for this gentlemen he knew where the $ was coming from and especially if it involved anyone from MX. The people in MX always want to know where and how there $ is spent and they make sure they have all the info. They need to keep everyone in check. Z-40 just lost a lot of money that he counted on and Is keeping him going now without this $ someone has to pay and it's not going to be his own family. Flight risk of course who better to have as a slave in MX than the person who made you millions training the best quarter horses in the us knowing that what this guy is capable of doing he wealth worth them keeping him alive!!!!!! And believe that if this guy goes to MX he has to pay for the money lost even though" he harmless so they say he didn't know"

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    1. Did you read the story bro, the horses he trained were under performing. There was over 400 horses on the ranch, which means he wasn't the only trainer. Hes a possible fed witness if he turns, so his value to be kept alive as a "slave" is nill. This guy is gonna be placed on house arrest with feds watching and listening. Z40 might as well write his brother off because of all the evidence and witnesses they've compiled.

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  4. Wow the us justice team has some real winners working that trial. " he might flee to Mexico", yeah ok im sacred for my life from a Mexican drug cartel so i pack up my family and go to Mexico where the cops, government, and everyone in between possibly works for the last letter in the alphabet. They could've done better then that. The people involved in this have been under surveillance for quite sometime , hopefully these pinheads dont start cutting a bunch of deals because of weak trial skills.

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  5. Shoot him before he infects others.

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  6. This is a big set up. There's 2 type of set ups, one to use him s a bait to.catch a even bigger fish ,or he might spill info since he is going to be followed, wire tapped ect. .... and the second set up can be him getting killed because he might have information that can.also.affect higher people in the chain. Whether is a trafficker or a high ranking.official.
    All these seems sketchy. He is a high profile witness n he shouldn't be let free but have protected custody under witness protection.
    That's all i have to say. This is after a critical analysis of.the situation

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  7. listen up assholes if you ran a multi million dollar drug operation would you give and tell your secrets to a horse trainer?? how about the maid?? the gardner?? this people might have know the operation was tainted or they might have suspected it but thats all they were lowly people at the bottom of the totem pole give us a fuckinggg break asssholes

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    1. Your totally right but some idiots here are quick to judge.

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  8. You can bet that the government has placed bugs everywhere and anywhere this dude might go when released, his cars, homes, offices etc... Maybe even in his damn shoes or boots...

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  9. First & foremost, there is no way Maldonardo didn't know what was going on
    and 2nd I doubt very much that he was just recently fired because of poor performance. I read that all the horses
    were either winners or being used as studs with excellent pedigree. That says to me that this guy was no loser..! I also took notice that they called him an "Illiterate"as if that means he's no threat to society. If my memory serves me right; Chapo,Lazca, Z40 and all the rest are illiterates also and I think that their about as dangerous as it gets..!

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    1. Those dudes are rich my high school diploma is useless

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  10. who cares i bet he thought he was cool before the bust..... fertilizer

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  11. There are sinaloas in Us so ready for zetas, wow. They'll end up like a group that went in a Fl bar years back claiming to be Zeta. Within minutes they got kicked out and some Sinaloa was armed to the teeth in a Dually eagerly waiting outside or so they say. Lol.

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  12. The only safe place that he got its jail other them that he is dead anyway

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  13. I don't see them retaliating here. American business interests in Mexico but where and what. Any ideas?

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  14. Mexico's "DRUG CARTELS" are only given the american people what they want. Same as any other business. american prohibition, is the real problem.

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