California: One of the alleged leaders of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel pleaded guilty to drug trafficking Wednesday in US federal court in California, officials said.
Jose Rodrigo Arechiga-Gamboa, known by the nickname "Chino Antrax" admitted to transporting cocaine and marijuana into the US and to carrying out and ordering other crimes.
Prosecutors say the 34-year-old is a leader of the Sinaloa cartel`s "Los Antrax" enforcer group that carries out the group`s most violent attacks. Prosecutors say Arechiga-Gamboa also managed trafficking shipments.
He was arrested on December 30, 2013 in Amsterdam while traveling under a fake name. The US said Arechiga-Gamboa had tried to alter his fingerprints. He was extradited in June to the US and charged in July.
The chief of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was arrested in February 2014.
During the court hearing Wednesday, a drug enforcement official said the plea helps stop a violent arm of the cartel that has terrorized people in the US and Mexico.
Mexico has had success in cracking down on big individuals in the cartels, but splinter groups and new leadership have kept violence and trafficking high.
