LAREDO, Texas (AP) - A 53-year-old Baytown man has been sentenced to four years in federal prison
after pleading guilty to trafficking more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana.
Santos de Leon was the 13th defendant convicted in the Changel organization, which investigators
proved moved tons of marijuana from Mexico through and around the Hebbronville U.S. Border Patrol
road checkpoint between 1992 and 1996.
He was indicted by a federal grand jury on Dec. 17, 1996, and was a fugitive until May 2.
Prosecutors said the organization was led by Jose Angel "Changel" Guerra, who was sentenced in
April 1999 to 20 years in prison.
De Leon admitted in July to having transported 1,215 pounds of marijuana for the organization to
Houston.
The Changel organization operated between the Rio Grande Valley, principally Roma, Texas, and
Houston. The Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Border Patrol assisted in the investigation.
