‘A Notorious International Fugitive’: ICE Deports Drug Lord Captured In Military Shootout

Federal immigration authorities removed a reputed drug kingpin back to Mexico after spending years in maximum security prisons in the United States.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents deported Mexican national Osiel Cardenas Guillen back to his home country on Monday, the agency confirmed in a press release. Cardenas, who previously led the Gulf Cartel and its notorious offshoot, Los Zetas, was handed back to Mexican authorities, who want him on homicide and other cartel-related charges.

“The successful removal of Osiel Cardenas, a notorious international fugitive, underscores our unwavering commitment to public safety and justice,” Enforcement and Removal Operations Chicago Field Office Director Samuel Olson said in a prepared statement. “By returning this dangerous individual to Mexico, where he faces serious charges, we have taken a significant step in safeguarding our communities and upholding the rule of law.”

The violent drug lord — who had clashed with Mexican and U.S. authorities since the 1990s — was originally apprehended amid a shootout with the Mexican military and transferred to U.S. custody.

Cardenas, also known as “El Loco,” took control of the Gulf Cartel in 1997 after the group’s former leader was sentenced to life in prison by a U.S. federal judge, according to The Washington Post. The crime syndicate at the time was one of the main drug-smuggling organizations in Mexico, controlling large flows of cocaine, heroin and marijuana into the U.S.

The drug lord was ultimately captured in 2003 amid a violent Mexican military raid on several homes in Matamoros, an incident which left two soldiers critically wounded. Cardenas’ men had opened fire and also threw a hand grenade at the soldiers before he was finally apprehended.