The U.S. government's drive to avenge the torture-slaying of drug agent Enrique Camarena scored another victory with the conviction of the brother-in-law of a former Mexican president.
Ruben Zuno Arce, 59, was found guilty Tuesday of racketeering, kidnapping and conspiracy in the 1985 slaying and could receive life in prison at sentencing Sept. 18.Two co-defendants were convicted earlier in the federal court trial. The jury was to return Wednesday to continue deliberating the fate of a fourth defendant.
Zuno, a Guadalajara businessman, was not charged with murder. Prosecutors portrayed him as a man with ties to drug barons seeking revenge for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration raids in Mexico that cost them $5 billion in profits.
The Camarena case has strained relations between the United States and Mexico because of U.S. allegations of complicity between Mexican officials and drug dealers.
The DEA has vowed to capture every person involved in the slaying. Twenty-two people have been charged in the United States. In a 1988 trial in Los Angeles, three defendants were convicted for their part in the case.
Zuno is one of the most prominent defendants convicted so far. Prosecutors claimed he wielded enormous political clout because of his sister's marriage to Luis Echeverria, president of Mexico from 1970 to 1976.