Infamous Mexican Drug Lord Osiel Cárdenas Guillén Released from US Prison

Former leader of the infamous Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, known as “El Mata Amigos” (Friend Killer), was released from a US prison on Friday after serving a 25-year sentence for drug trafficking, money laundering, and extortion, CBS News reports.

Guillén was subsequently handed over to the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The criminal aged 57 was apprehended in 2003 and extradited to the United States in 2007. He pleaded guilty to multiple charges in 2010 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, along with a $50 million fine. While his release has been confirmed, it remains unclear whether the US government will move to deport him to Mexico. Unnamed sources within the Biden administration have said that Cárdenas Guillén will be transferred back to Mexico.

During his reign as leader of the Gulf Cartel, Cárdenas Guillén presided over a vast drug trafficking empire, responsible for smuggling massive quantities of cocaine and marijuana into the United States from Mexico. He was notorious for his ruthless tactics and for forming Los Zetas, a powerful and brutal criminal organization composed of former Mexican special forces soldiers.

The Gulf Cartel, once one of Mexico’s most feared criminal organizations, has lost influence in recent years, fracturing into multiple factions. The Zetas, originally Cárdenas Guillén’s personal guard, eventually broke away from the Gulf Cartel in 2010, igniting a bloody war for control of drug trafficking routes in eastern and northeastern Mexico.

The release of Cárdenas Guillén comes at a time of ongoing violence and instability in Mexico, particularly in areas where the Gulf Cartel continues to operate. Just this year, the “Scorpions” faction of the Gulf Cartel was linked to the kidnapping and killing of four American citizens in Matamoros, Mexico.