World's most wanted man
You know your a pretty bad dude when only Osama Bin Laden - a man responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks, which killed almost 3000 innocent civilians - stands between you and number one spot on the FBI's most wanted list. But being second on that list isn't something Barrio Azteca leader Eduardo Ravelo has to worry about now, after Bin Laden's death a couple of weeks ago promoted him to the top spot.
WHO IS HE?
Eduardo Ravelo is credited by the US authorities with turning the Texas/Mexico boarder into the homicide capital of the world. And his suspected involvement in the execution of US diplomats in Mexico, along with Osama Bin Laden carking it in a Pakistani has seen him rise to public enemy number 1. The 40 year old (depending on which birth certificate you go off) is so hunted, Feds believe his fingerprints have been altered and he has had major plastic surgery to change his appearance. So there is little chance he looks anything like this 13 year old photo from the FBI website. The US Feds admitted they've lost track of the man they call "2x4" and "Stutters". Also dubbed "The Plank", due to his emotionless wooden face as he executes his victims, Eduardo is the deadliest member of the worst gang in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which itself is the worlds most murderous city.
WHAT'S HE DONE?
Since January 2009, Ravelo is thought to have been responsible for half the 10000 or so victims of Mexico's drug wars in Juarez - victims which are usual found beheaded, burned, mutilated, strangled, tortured or butchered. One man was found hanged to death with a pig's head covering his face. Many bodies turn up hogtied, with eyes, mouth and limbs duct-taped, brutally dispatched with a few shots to the back of the head. "It's a signature hit that shows the victims was kidnapped then tortured before being executed. Many of them are taken from across the boarder in Texas". These are usually hits carried out by drug gangs, and the worst of the worst is the Aztecas. The Plank is their leader and he earned this job on merit, he is the toughest of them all - a stone cold killer - who is savvy and well connected.
HOW DID HE GET SO BIG?
The violence-wracked border city of Juarez is a stone's throw away from El Paso, and as a dual US/Mexican citizen, Ravelo heads the 600 strong Barrio Aztecas. The gang started in prison which was all about protection inside jail. But they also recurited American gangsters from El Paso - people they could trust. A sponser introduced someone new to the group and then acts like their guardian at first and the newbie would have to demonstrate he was commited to the gang by commiting some brutally violent crimes. After awhile the gang turned into a paramillitary style organization that controlled offender life with in the walls. They ran extortion, narcotics, car theft and murder rackets as well as supplying cocaine to whores is El Paso, who then sold it at strip clubs. In 2008, Azteca leader David "Chico" Meraz turned up for a freinds birthday party one night and got more than just some cake. Despite the blood oaths of eternal fellowship The Plank offed his own leader, stabbing him in the neck before shooting him several times. Taking over as the new leader he decided to make an example out of a rival gang that involved a sack of hammers, prison guards and the rival gang members (i will leave the rest up to your imagination).
HOW HE MADE HIS FORTUNE?
Bussinessmen who refuse to pay the $2000-a-month protection money to the Aztecas find their establishments torched to the ground with Molotov cocktails. Ravelo's gang usual commit car thefts in both countries at a rate of 1500 a month. Meanwhile, the amount of narcotics seized at El Paso's borders runs about six tonnes a year - a mere fraction of what actually makes it through the border.
CAN THEY CATCH HIM?
Ravelo is a ruthless killer, who has absolutly no regard for human life. So desperate are the US to catch him they have dispatched a special forces team to find him. But recently Wikileaks released documents showing that some of the weapons intended to be used by the US special forces across the border actually made there way into the hands of Ravelo's men. For now, he remains a free man with a $100000 reward on this head.
