CHICAGO — The United States deported this Monday Mexico to drug trafficker Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, former leader of the Sign of the Gulf and founder of the bloodthirsty criminal gang Los Zetas, reported the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE).
After being handed over to Mexican authorities, Cárdenas Guillén was held in the Altiplano maximum security prison, located about 80 kilometers from Mexico City, reported a federal source close to the case who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to testify.
The Mexican justice system has open cases against the former criminal leader for the crimes of drug trafficking, organized crime and operations with resources of illicit origin, the source added.
Cárdenas was released in August 21 years after being detained and 17 years after being extradited to the United States, where he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and extortion of US federal agents.
But immediately afterwards he was taken into ICE custody.
Delivery without incident
“By returning this dangerous individual to Mexico, where he faces serious charges, we have taken a significant step to protect our communities and maintain the rule of law,” said Samuel Olson, an executive with the Chicago Enforcement and Removal Office (ERO). , cited in a statement.
This operation “demonstrates the power of collaboration in law enforcement,” he adds.
Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, 57, was released from the Terre Haute Penitentiary Center in Indiana, where he was serving his sentence, in August, but was transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
Officers escorted Cárdenas through the San Diego port of entry, “where he was handed over to Mexican authorities without incident,” the statement said.
The Gulf Cartel became one of the most feared criminal groups in Mexico. However, in recent years it has lost influence and has split into multiple factions.
As leader, Cárdenas Guillén, 57, oversaw a drug trafficking empire responsible for the export of thousands of kilos of cocaine and marijuana to the United States from Mexico, according to judicial sources.
Nicknamed “El Mata Amigos”, he was arrested in 2003 in Tamaulipas (northeast of Mexico) and extradited in 2007 to the United States, where he was sentenced in 2010 to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay 50 million dollars.
