Feb. 20--It's been almost eight years since Chicago drug traffickers Margarito and Pedro Flores made the stunning decision to cooperate against the notorious Sinaloa cartel, risking their lives to secretly record meetings and telephone conversations with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and his top henchmen.
In that time, the twin brothers from the Little Village neighborhood have been kept under wraps in the federal witness protection program. Despite the dozens of convictions they've helped authorities win -- from lowly couriers in their massive drug distribution network to several of El Chapo's top lieutenants -- neither brother has ever testified in open court.
Now, for the first time, one of the Flores brothers is scheduled to take the witness stand in the upcoming trial of Alfredo Beltran-Leyva in federal court in Washington, D.C., the Tribune has learned.
Known as "Mochomo," or "desert ant," Beltran-Leyva and his three brothers ran a violent cartel faction that broke off from Sinaloa after his arrest in Mexico in 2008 that the brothers blamed on a betrayal by El Chapo. The rift sparked a bloody war that ultimately led to the cooperation of the Flores twins, who feared their lives and those of their families were in danger, federal prosecutors have said.
The trial had been scheduled to begin last week but was delayed at the last minute after Beltran-Leyva's lawyer claimed he needed time to investigate new information about several cooperating witnesses in the case. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon is expected to decide whether to grant a further continuance on Tuesday, court records show.
The case against Beltran-Leyva, who was extradited to the U.S. in November 2014, has attracted little media attention even as El Chapo's made-for-Hollywood escape from a Mexican prison in July and his spectacular recapture last month garnered worldwide headlines.
Authorities have said they are working to extradite Guzman to the U.S., where he is facing indictments in seven jurisdictions, including Chicago.
Margarito Flores' appearance in Beltran-Leyva's trial, meanwhile, would mark the first public testimony by either brother since their unprecedented cooperation led to what law enforcement has called the most significant drug investigation in Chicago's history. Both faced life sentences but were given 14 years in prison in January 2015.
Flores, 34, is expected to testify about the twins' relationship with key members of the Beltran-Leyva faction that used the brothers to move thousands of pounds of cocaine from Mexico to distribution points in the U.S., court records show. The twins later sold the cocaine to wholesale customers across the country, including in Chicago.
According to court filings, the Beltran-Leyva faction was notorious for employing "sicarios," or hit men, who carried out murders, kidnappings and other violent collections of drug debts. Two former chiefs of the sicarios, identified in court records only as "El Rayito" and "Wacho," are expected to testify about torturing enemies of the cartel on the orders of the Beltran-Leyva brothers, the records show.
When he was arrested by Mexican Army police in January 2008, Beltran-Leyva was armed with eight pistols and an AK-47 assault rifle and was carrying two suitcases filled with about $900,000, prosecutors have said.
Even after his arrest, Beltran-Leyva continued to play "a significant role" in the cartel's decision-making from his jail cell in Mexico, according to a court filing by prosecutors. The ensuing cartel war resulted in the murder of hundreds of people in Mexico, including numerous law enforcement officers and politicians, the filing alleged.
In the midst of the bloodshed, the twins began recording numerous conversations in the summer of 2008 with a key lieutenant of the Beltran-Leyva faction, Manuel Fernandez-Navarro. In one conversation, Pedro told Fernandez-Navarro about a recent meeting his brother had with El Chapo and some of his top officials at a mountaintop compound in Sinaloa, records show.
At that meeting, Guzman allegedly had discussed a plot to attack a U.S. or Mexican government or media building in retaliation for the recent arrest of an associate. According to court records, El Chapo wanted it done in a way that would be blamed on the Beltran-Leyva faction.
Later, the twins recorded Fernandez-Navarro as they set up a deal to ship more than 1,000 kilos of Beltran-Leyva's cocaine to Los Angeles, court records show. In one conversation with Margarito Flores, Fernandez-Navarro seemed irritated that the twins hadn't committed to the amount.
"Hey! I need you to tell me for sure," Fernandez-Navarro said, according to a transcript of the call in court records. "You haven't told me anything for sure yet. I haven't called the guy... because your brother just keeps saying that it's 600 and then that it's 800. I need something definite so that I can be able to move the trucks."
Flores responded that the deal was "for sure" and that all the percentages could be worked out.
"When my brother gets in and calls you, you and him can figure it out, no?" Margarito Flores said.
Less than a year later, authorities in Chicago indicted Fernandez-Navarro as well as Beltran-Leyva's older brother, Arturo, the alleged day-to-day operator.
Fernandez-Navarro pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing before U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman.
Arturo Beltran-Leyva, known as "El Barbas," or "the bearded one," never made it to Chicago, however. He was killed by Mexican military personnel during a wild 90-minute shootout in December 2009, records show.
jmeisner@tribpub.com
