AUSTIN, Texas — A 41-year-old Mexican citizen residing in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, has been ordered to federal prison following multiple convictions related to a murder-for-hire scheme that brought three sicarios, or hitmen, into Laredo.
According to the Department of Justice, Noe Gonzalez-Martinez, also known as Tocayo, was a leader and manager of the Cartel Del Noreste. In December 2023, he was convicted on a number of charges relating to:
- conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine
- murder-for-hire conspiracy
- murder for hire
- conspiracy to kidnap
- possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking-related crime
- interstate travel in aid of racketeering
U.S. District Court Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos has now ordered Gonzalez-Martinez to serve the rest of his life, plus 60 months, in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard about his role as a leader and organizer, and his conduct in the crimes, as well as the substantial progress Gonzalez-Martinez made toward acting on those crimes.
During the trial, the jury heard evidence that between Sept. 7, 2021, and Sept. 13, 2021, Gonzalez-Martinez and several other CDN members traveled from Nuevo Laredo into Laredo. Once he arrived in the U.S., Gonzalez-Martinez solicited the help of other CDN affiliates to recruit, plan and coordinate the kidnapping and murder of someone the cartel believed had stolen from them.
The investigation revealed that Gonzalez-Martinez communicated via cellphone with co-conspirators to plan and coordinate the recovery of drugs and proceeds from the intended victim. He also provided co-conspirators with an address where they could retrieve guns to murder the victim.
On Sept. 13, 2021, Gonzalez-Martinez’s co-conspirators took possession of a car and guns to perform the murder, which included a .45 caliber pistol, a .357 magnum revolver and two AR-15s.
According to court testimony, the sicarios were supposed to kidnap the suspected drug thief and return him to Mexico for cartel members to “make an example of him.” If they were unable to do so, they would kill him and return the stolen property to the cartel.
Law enforcement officials successfully thwarted the crime and apprehended Gonzalez-Martinez on July 29, 2022, at the international port of entry in Laredo.
The three sicarios – Juan Antonio Martinez-Padilla, also known as Juan Antonio Martinez-Lopez and Otoniel Martinez-Padilla, 60; Gregorio Gonzalez-Barragan, 34; and Rodolfo Reyna-Zapata, 27, all from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico – received sentences of 240 months (20 years), 352 months and 352 months (29 years, 3 months) in prison, respectively.
Gonzalez-Martinez will remain in custody until he’s transferred to a U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.