Former Gulf drug cartel leader Osiel Cardenas released from prison in the United States | Mexico | Latest | World

Mexican drug trafficker Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, former leader of the Gulf Cartel and founder of the criminal gang Zetaleaving prison USA The Federal Bureau of Prisons informed AFP on Friday.

Cárdenas Guillén was released 21 years after his arrest and 17 years after he was extradited to the United States, where he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and extortion of U.S. federal agents.

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“We confirm that Osiel Cardenas Guillén has been released today”A source at the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) told AFP.

“He is being detained by ICE.”he added.

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He left the Terre Haute, Indiana, prison center where he is serving his sentence on Friday. He has several pending charges in Mexico, but it is unclear whether the U.S. government will deport him.

he Gulf Cartel It became one of Mexico’s most feared criminal groups, but in recent years it has lost influence and splintered into factions.

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According to judicial sources, the 57-year-old ringleader, Cárdenas Guillén, oversaw a drug trafficking empire responsible for importing thousands of kilograms of cocaine and marijuana from Mexico into the United States.

Nicknamed “El Mata Amigos”, he was arrested in Tamaulipas (northeastern Mexico) in 2003, extradited to the United States in 2007, and sentenced to 25 years in prison in the United States in 2010 and ordered to pay $50 million.

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The judge dismissed some of the drug trafficking charges, though she acknowledged she had hesitated to accept his plea deal.

“I apologize to my country, Mexico, the United States, my wife and especially my children for all the mistakes I have made.”Cardenas Guillén declared at his trial.

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The leader used violence and intimidation as a means to achieve his goals.

He recruited former soldiers from the Mexican special forces to form his personal guard, but the protection force eventually operated on its own under the name ZetaIt was one of the bloodiest gangs in Mexico until it was disbanded.