Medellin cartel enforcer faces prison in old case
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An admitted enforcer for Colombia's once-fearsome Medellin cocaine cartel is facing prison time after pleading guilty to drug charges dating from 1994.
A federal judge in Florida is set Thursday to sentence 49-year-old Sigifredo Maya for cocaine conspiracy charges. He faces a minimum of 10 years.
Prosecutors say four Maya brothers were involved in the Medellin cartel's shipment of tons of cocaine through South Florida beginning in 1979. They also handled movement of millions of dollars. The Mayas were indicted 11 years ago but the charges were sealed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It wasn't until March that Maya surfaced in Panama, on his way to Mexico. Authorities in Panama detained him and had him flown to Miami, where he was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The whereabouts of his three brothers are unknown.