LAREDO, Texas (AP) — A teenager accused of being a hit man for a drug cartel pleaded guilty to murder Thursday, abruptly ending a trial that exposed the cartel's workings in the U.S. and Mexico.
Rosalio "Bart" Reta, 17, was immediately sentenced to 40 years in prison. He still faces separate charges in another killing in Laredo.
The Webb County Courthouse was heavily guarded. Attorneys and witnesses have reported being threatened by the cartel's enforcers, and Reta has been moved into solitary confinement.