Mexican drug kingpin Osiel Cardenas Guillen, once the notorious leader of the Gulf Cartel and the violent Los Zetas gang, was deported from the United States to Mexico on Monday after serving a lengthy prison sentence, according to officials.
Cardenas Guillen was captured in 2003 and extradited to the U.S. four years later, where he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering, and extortion charges. Following his release from prison in August, he was taken into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On Monday, the 57-year-old was escorted through California’s San Diego port of entry, where he was handed over to Mexican law enforcement without incident, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Chicago Field Office confirmed in a statement.
“By returning this dangerous individual to Mexico, where he faces serious charges, we have taken a significant step in safeguarding our communities and upholding the rule of law,” said Samuel Olson, the field office director.
Cardenas Guillen was transported to the Altiplano maximum security prison near Mexico City, according to a federal source familiar with the case. He faces several pending charges in Mexico.
Once one of Mexico’s most powerful and feared criminal groups, the Gulf Cartel has lost much of its influence in recent years and fractured into multiple factions.
As cartel leader, Cardenas Guillen oversaw a vast drug trafficking empire responsible for exporting massive quantities of cocaine and marijuana into the U.S. Known as “El Mata Amigos” (Friend Killer), he recruited former Mexican special forces soldiers to form his elite personal guard, which later became the notorious Los Zetas—one of the country’s most brutal gangs before their collapse.
Following his capture in Tamaulipas in northeast Mexico, Cardenas Guillen was extradited to the U.S. in 2007 and sentenced in 2010 to 25 years in prison, with a $50 million fine. His arrest led to the Zetas breaking away from the Gulf Cartel in 2010, sparking a violent power struggle for control of drug trafficking routes across eastern and northeastern Mexico.
