A notorious Mexican drug lord who led a bloodthirsty cartel has been removed from the U.S. and handed over to authorities in Mexico, where U.S. officials say he is wanted for homicide and other charges.
Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, 57, was handed over to Mexican law enforcement without incident after serving 14 years in U.S. custody, most of his 25-year U.S. prison sentence, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said on Monday.
Mexican authorities immediately re-arrested Cárdenas Guillén and took him to the country’s top maximum-security Altiplano prison just west of Mexico City, a Mexican federal official told The Associated Press. The official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, said the charges related to drugs, organized crime and money-laundering.
ICE said Cárdenas Guillén is wanted in Mexico for homicide and illegal possession of a firearm. It is presumed he was deported to Mexico since he is a Mexican citizen.
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Osiel Cardenas Guillen, 57, was returned to Mexico and handed over to Mexican authorities, ICE said Monday. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
ICE shared a photo of a bespectacled and balding Cárdenas Guillén, who was once feared throughout Mexico for his violent reputation. The former drug lord’s hands were shackled and two officers in helmets and flak vests held each of his arms.
Cardenas Guillen is seen leaving a federal courthouse after pleading not guilty to charges connected to running a cartel, in Houston, Feb. 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)
Cárdenas Guillén’s nickname was “El Mata Amigos,” or “The one who kills his friends,” and the 57-year-old once moved tons of cocaine and made millions of dollars while leading the Gulf cartel, based in the border cities of Reynosa and Matamoros.
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He later created the Zetas, the most vicious gang of hitmen Mexico has ever known. They routinely committed acts of terror that involved slaughtering dozens of people, decapitating them or dumping heaps of hacked-up bodies on roadways, The Associated Press reported.
Osiel Cárdenas Guillén is escorted by members of Mexico’s Federal Agency of Investigations in Mexico City in January 2007. (Reuters/Attorney General’s office)
Cárdenas Guillén was eventually captured in 2003 and extradited to the U.S. four years later.
In 2010, Cárdenas Guillén was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges, including threatening to assault and murder federal agents, and was ordered to forfeit $50 million from his criminal enterprise.
Fox News’ Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
