MEXICO CITY, May 12 (Xinhua) -- A federal judge condemned a cartel leader to 12 years in jail after finding him guilty of drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms, Mexico's prosecutor-general (PGR) said Saturday.
Martin Rosales Magana, alias "El Terry," is considered by the government as one of the founders of the La Familia Michoacana cartel, which has terrorized the western state of Michoacan for the past decade. He was the right-hand man of jailed kingpin Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas, alias "El Chango."
The sixth district court of Toluca ruled that Rosales was guilty of drug trafficking, carrying military weapons and illegal ammunition, the PGR said in a statement.
The judge also condemned three other men linked to Rosales to prison terms between six years and nine months and almost 10 years.
The PGR also said that Rosales was captured in October 2011 by the federal police at a farm near Michoacan in an operation carried out after receiving information from the United States.
Currently, authorities in Mexico consider La Familia Michoacana cartel as a wiped-out gang after the arrest or deaths of many of its members.
