A federal judge in West Texas has sentenced the bodyguard of a Mexican drug cartel boss to 28 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of murder and drug-trafficking.
Rigoberto Ruiz-Alatorre said nothing on his behalf Wednesday to U.S. District Judge Frank Montalvo. His attorney, Ray Ortega, had argued for a maximum sentence of 10 years.
In May, Ruiz-Alatorre admitted to the July 2006 killing of Fermin Rodriguez-Gonzalez in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rodriguez-Gonzalez was a former associate who had begun trafficking on his own.
According to prosecutors, Ruiz-Alatorre was hired to provide security to Gabino "El Ingeniero" Salas-Valenciano, who was believed to be the Sinaola drug cartel's boss in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, across the border from El Paso.
Salas-Valenciano was killed last year by Mexican authorities.
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