A Barrio Azteca gang member turned government witness testified Tuesday that his gang had received training on how to become better killers from the notorious Zetas drug cartel.

Jesus Ernesto "Camello" Chavez Castillo, who is a witness in the trial of Arturo Gallegos Castrellon in U.S. District Court, testified that the Barrio Azteca gang sent two teams to Torreon, Mexico, to train with the Zetas on how to become more proficient at killing targets.

Gallegos, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of being a gang leader involved in the slayings of three people linked to the U.S. Consulate in Juárez on March 13, 2010.

Chavez said Barrio Azteca members also learned how to kill people who were inside moving vehicles.

The three victims linked to the U.S. Consulate — Arthur Redelfs, his wife Lesley, and Jorge Salcido — were traveling in white sport utility vehicles in Juárez when they were targeted by Barrio Aztecas who shot at their vehicles. Lesley Enriquez Redelfs worked at the U.S. Consulate, and Salcido was married to someone who also worked at the consulate.

On Tuesday, jurors listened to radio chatter between gang members about the events that led up to the March 2010 slayings of the Redelfs and Salcido.

Prosecutors produced the recordings of the radio communications, but did not say how the recordings were obtained.

Chavez testified that Gallegos had asked for all Barrio Azteca members to be on the lookout for a white Honda Pilot, after such a vehicle was reportedly seen in the neighborhood where gang leaders lived, and was suspected of casing the leaders' homes. According to radio chatter, two men were in the white Honda Pilot, including one who had a "bowl" type haircut.

Also in Tuesday's testimony, Chavez said that Barrio Azteca leaders began to suspect that someone at the U.S. Consulate was helping the rival Sinaloa drug cartel, possibly by providing visas to that cartel's members. (Having visas to cross the border would facilitate drug-trafficking into the United States.) Chavez said the reason they suspected this was because people in El Paso were seemingly able to buy drugs at cheaper prices than the prices that the Barrio Azteca gang offered. The gang leaders tried to investigate but their investigation did not lead to any answers, Chavez testified.

Chavez testified that he oversaw a group of hit squads that were responsible for killing more than 2,000 people in Juárez during the drug cartel wars between the Carrillo Fuentes organization, which was allied with the Barrio Azteca gang, and the Sinaloa drug cartel led by Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, which had other gang allies. Chavez said his part in the violence ended with his arrest in July 2010.

Chavez testified that higher-ups had ordered the Barrio Azteca gang to keep the body count up by killing at least eight people per day in Juárez. Chavez said he was not sure at first they could kill that many people until Barrio Azteca leaders told him how to divide up the work among the different hit squad members.

He testified that the leaders advised him to hit "easy targets" like members of the rival Artistas Asesinos gang, including anyone who happened to be hanging around the gang.

Chavez testified that Gallegos, known as "El Farmero" and "El Benny," informed the Barrio Aztecas that the gang leaders had agreed to support La Linea — the enforcement arm of the Carrillo Fuentes cartel that included corrupt police — and that's why Barrio Aztecas expanded their drug distribution role to include more slayings.

Chavez said it was during this time that he began collecting "cuotas" (protection payments) from businesses in the downtown Juárez area that was under his control. The businesses had agreed to support Barrio Aztecas and the money collected from them was used by the gang to pay off police in Juárez, he said.

Chavez testified that he never saw his wife and stepdaughter again after they left Mexico City, where he was being held in 2010, on their way to Juárez with the intent of fleeing Juárez. He said that his elderly parents made it safely to the United States and that they receive compensation from the U.S. government for their needs.

The admitted Barrio Azteca member testified that he was behind the slayings of 800 people in Juárez between January and August of 2009, but that he stopped counting after that. Upon further questioning, he said additional killings before and after that period could have included 1,500 more victims.

Randolph Ortega, Gallegos' defense lawyer, began poking holes in Chavez's testimony under cross-examination, pointing out inconsistencies and contradictions in statements he gave to officials about his part in the March 13, 2010, slayings and other matters related to the Barrio Aztecas and La Linea.

The hearing resumes today in U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone's courtroom.

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at 546-6140.