8 Mexican Men Sentenced in Priest's Death

A Mexican court sentenced eight drug-gang members to 40 years each in prison for their roles in the 1993 shooting of a Roman Catholic cardinal at a Guadalajara airport, officials said Friday.

An appeals court in the western state of Jalisco imposed the maximum sentences allowable under Mexican law for homicide in its Thursday ruling, said Roberto Aguilar, a spokesman for the court system.

The sentences cannot be appealed, according to the Federal Judiciary Council.

Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo was riddled with bullets while sitting in his car at the airport. Federal investigators concluded that a gang of gunmen confused his luxury car for that of rival trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, whom they targeted for assassination.

The cardinal's death was a blow to this predominantly Catholic nation.

Seven defendants also received additional sentences — ranging from 35 to 240 years — for the six other deaths caused by the May 1993 airport shooting and for subsequent killings. Such multiple sentences in Mexico are served concurrently.

Five men were acquitted of killing Posadas Ocampo, but three of them were sentenced to terms of up to 40 years for other homicides. The other two face separate charges.

In past trials, several other suspects were convicted of charges relating to the cardinal's killing.

The Archdiocese of Guadalajara, which Posadas Ocampo headed and which has advocated of a deeper investigation into his killing, said it had no immediate comment on the sentences.

In 2002, a judge threw out murder charges against a main suspect in Posadas Ocampos' killing. Accused drug lord Benjamin Arellano Felix was in the border city of Tijuana at the time.

But current Guadalajara Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez and other church figures have long disagreed with the official version of events, arguing that Posadas Ocampo was targeted because he knew about alleged relationships between drug dealers and government officials.

Arellano Felix's brother, Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix, already has been convicted in connection with the slaying, but church officials insist that other responsible parties remain free.