Jury Picked in Trial of Alleged Drug Kingpin

Amid unusually heavy security in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, seven men and five women were selected Tuesday as jurors in the trial of Juan Ramon Matta Ballesteros, a 44-year-old Honduran accused of running a massive cocaine ring.

Judge Pamela A. Rymer scheduled opening arguments for Thursday morning in the trial, expected to last a month.

Matta, a reputed billionaire, was accused in a 1985 indictment with heading a cocaine trafficking organization that, in one seven-month period alone, moved into the United States about 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, valued at $70 million.

Federal prosecutors Jimmy Gurule and Manuel Medrano’s contention that Matta controlled the operation is based on ledgers that were seized at the Oakwood Garden apartment complex in Van Nuys on Sept. 21, 1981.

According to the indictment, 114 pounds of cocaine and $1.9 million in cash were seized. At the time, this was the largest seizure of cocaine and cash in California history.

Second Indictment

Matta also stands accused in a second federal indictment of directing a multimillion-dollar drug importation and distribution network headquartered in Colombia that was responsible for importing hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into the United States between 1983 and 1985.

It is anticipated that a trial on those charges will be held later this year or next year.

People seeking to enter Rymer’s courtroom Tuesday had to pass through a specially installed metal detector, in addition to the one that all those entering the federal courthouse must go through. Additionally, armed deputy U.S. marshals have been present the last two days in anticipation of the trial.

Wearing a brown suit and a red necktie, Matta sat quietly next to an interpreter while jurors were being chosen by the prosecutors and his defense attorney, Martin Stolar of New York City.

Matta was arrested aboard a U.S.-bound plane in April, 1988, after he was whisked out of his native country and taken to the Dominican Republic by Honduran officials, who had been prodded by the U.S. government for assistance on the case for more than a year. The arrest precipitated several days of rioting and demonstrations in front of the U.S. Embassy in Honduras, which has a clause in its constitution prohibiting extradition of its citizens.

Escape From U.S. Prison

Federal marshals said the basis of its jurisdiction over Matta was a warrant for his escape from Eglin Federal Prison Camp in Florida in 1971, where he had been held on charges of entering this country on a false passport.

The arrest came only one day after Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) had criticized the approach of Honduran officials to drug problems, asserting that Matta was living in luxury there while there were multiple charges pending against him in this country.

Matta had been living in Honduras for two years after escaping from a prison hospital in Colombia, where he was being held on drug charges. He has been described as one of the most important links between Colombia’s Medellin cartel and Mexican smugglers who transport drugs into the United States.