2010, for his direct role in orchestrating all 80 murders.

EQ earned $125,000 from the DEA for providing the evidence that led to the arrest of his boss, Gallegos, and the temporary disruption of the radio network that he built. EQ confirmed in court what authorities had long suspected, that the car bomb was set in retaliation against elements of the Mexican federal police for not obeying the wishes of the Juarez Cartel. A warning addressed to the FBI and DEA had appeared at the time of the car bombing, scrawled in graffiti on the wall of an elementary school. It threatened more car bombs unless the U.S. put a stop to collusion between the Mexican federal authorities and the Sinaloa Cartel of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. The widelypublished findings of an investigation by the Mexican daily newspaper El Universal showed that agents from the DEA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office coordinated with top leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel to inflict damage on rivals like the Juarez Cartel.

EQ is now a protected witness living with his family in the United States. Meanwhile, Benny Gallegos was extradited to El Paso in June 2012. He was found guilty on Feb. 15 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. The Juarez Cartel that he served lost the war to the Sinaloa Cartel and ceded control of its home territory in 2011. Law enforcement authorities maintain that the cartel is still in operation in the state of Chihuahua, and parts of West Texas and