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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Two Honduran brothers who ran what prosecutors describe as one of the world's largest drug trafficking organizations are set to plead guilty to criminal charges in a U.S. court, according to court records.
Plea hearings are scheduled Thursday for 43-year-old Miguel Arnulfo Valle Valle and 46-year-old Luis Alonso Valle Valle. Authorities say the Los Valles cartel was responsible for distributing tens of thousands of kilograms of cocaine every month to the U.S.
A third brother, Jose Valle Valle, pleaded guilty to related charges Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria. Court records indicate he played a lesser role in the conspiracy, but he still faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Authorities say Honduras is a key transfer point for Colombian cocaine into Mexico and eventually the U.S.
Joshua Stueve, spokesman for the U.S attorney's office in Alexandria, declined to comment on the plea. When charges against the two brothers were unsealed in December 2014, U.S. Attorney Dana Boente said the pair were "leaders of one of the world's largest drug trafficking organizations" responsible for importing tons of cocaine into the U.S. every year.
Details of Tuesday's plea agreement with Jose Valle Valle were sealed by the judge at prosecutors' request. In open court, U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady said the plea documents include an admission by Jose Valle Valle that the organization transferred cocaine from Honduras to Guatemala and then Mexico before making its way into the U.S. The cartel also smuggled smaller amounts directly into the U.S. by hiding it in shoes and picture frames.
The Treasury Department, when it slapped sanctions on the Valle Valles in 2014, said the organization maintained a base of operations in Copan, Honduras, and laundered its drug trafficking proceeds through coffee companies as well as cattle and milk companies owned by the family.
Robert Feitel, a lawyer for Arnulfo Valle Valle, confirmed Tuesday that his client intends to enter a guilty plea Thursday, but he declined to discuss any details of the case or the plea until after the hearing.
The indictment describes Arnulfo Valle Valle as the organization's leader and Luis as his top lieutenant. The indictment accuses Los Valles of using kidnapping, murder and bribes to further its interests. One of those indicted along with the Valle Valles was a Honduran police official, Wilmer Alonzo Carranza Bonilla, who was assigned to work drug investigations alongside U.S. authorities at the embassy in Tegucigalpa. He pleaded guilty last month in Alexandria to taking bribes to tip off the cartel about enforcement efforts.
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