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There had been nervousness about the impending return of
Cárdenas Guillén, who once led the feared Gulf cartel in
northeastern Mexico before he was arrested and extradited to the
United States in 2007.
The U.S. Homeland Security Department confirmed in its social
media accounts Monday that Cárdenas Guillén had been returned
after serving 14 years in U.S. custody, most of his 25-year U.S.
prison sentence. He is a Mexican citizen, so presumably he was
deported.
A Mexican federal official who was not authorized to be quoted
by name said Cárdenas Guillén had immediately been taken into
custody in Mexico on drug, organized crime and money-laundering
charges.
The official said Cárdenas Guillén was being held at the
country's top maximum-security Altiplano prison just west of
Mexico City.
Homeland Security Investigations posted photos of a paunchy,
balding, bespectacled Cárdenas Guillén being escorted by two
officers in helmets and flak vests, and the being walked over a
border bridge.
The image contrasts with the drug lord's fearsome reputation for
violence in Mexico.
The former head of the Gulf cartel was known for his brutality.
He created the most bloodthirsty gang of hitmen Mexico has ever
known, the Zetas, which routinely slaughtered migrants and
innocent people.
The 57-year-old native of the border city of Matamoros, Mexico,
moved tons of cocaine and made millions of dollars through the
Gulf cartel, based in the border cities of Reynosa and
Matamoros.
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