The notorious founder of the Los Zetas drug cartel has been deported to Mexico after serving a lengthy prison sentence in the United States.
Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, aged 57, led Los Zetas until 2003 when he was captured by Mexican military forces near his hometown of Matamoros. Under his command, the group transformed into one of the most powerful and violent factions involved in the Mexican drug wars.
U.S. immigration officials transferred Cárdenas to Mexican authorities at the Otay border crossing, where he was immediately re-arrested and taken to El Altiplano maximum-security prison in Mexico State.
Mexican prosecutors have indicated that Cárdenas faces charges related to murder and organized crime stemming from his time as a leading drug lord. His criminal career began in the Gulf cartel during the 1990s, where he allegedly eliminated rivals to ascend to power, earning the chilling nickname “Mata Amigos,” or “killer of friends.”
Cárdenas infamously recruited members of Mexico’s elite special forces, using them as hitmen for the Gulf cartel, and these forces would later become known as Los Zetas. Their brutal tactics, which included decapitation and dismemberment, instilled fear across northeastern Mexico, their stronghold.
By the early 2000s, Cárdenas had become one of Mexico’s most wanted individuals. He was apprehended in his home state of Tamaulipas in 2003 during a violent gun battle. Realizing his influence, authorities airlifted him to Mexico City for pre-trial detention.
In 2007, he was extradited to the United States, where he faced serious charges, including trafficking massive amounts of cocaine and making threats against federal agents. He pleaded guilty in 2010, resulting in a 25-year prison sentence. Released early in August 2024 from a federal facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, Cárdenas was subsequently handed over to immigration authorities, leading to his deportation to Mexico.
Mexican prosecutors report that Cárdenas Guillén has seven pending federal cases and could potentially face more than 700 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
