A notorious Mexican drug lord, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, has been removed from US custody and handed over to Mexican authorities, where he is wanted for homicide and other charges. The 57-year-old, who once led the Gulf cartel and later created the Zetas, a brutal gang of hitmen, was serving 14 years of his 25-year prison sentence in the US.
Cárdenas Guillén was extradited to the US in 2007 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges including threatening to assault and murder federal agents. He was ordered to forfeit $50 million from his criminal enterprise.
Mexican authorities immediately re-arrested Cárdenas Guillén and took him to the country’s top maximum-security Altiplano prison, west of Mexico City, on charges related to drugs, organized crime, and money-laundering. He is also wanted in Mexico for homicide and illegal possession of a firearm.
Cárdenas Guillén earned the nickname “El Mata Amigos,” or “The one who kills his friends,” for his violent reputation, and was known for moving tons of cocaine and making millions of dollars while leading the Gulf cartel. He was eventually captured in 2003 and extradited to the US four years later.
