Osiel Cardenas

Osiel Cardenas is allegedly the former leader of the Gulf Cartel, one of the largest drug cartels operating in Mexico. Cardenas was arrested in 2003 and extradited to the United States to face prosecution in 2007.

Fast Facts:

1. Born: May 18, 1967
2. Arrested: March 14, 2003 in Mexico
3. Charges: Assault on FBI and DEA agents, drug smuggling
4. Extradited to U.S.: January 19, 2007
5. Former occupation: Mechanic

Brief Biography

Cardenas became a target of United States federal law enforcement agencies in 2000, when the U.S. Attorney's office in Brownsville, Texas, indicted him and two of his lieutenants for organizing an assault on DEA Special Agent Joseph Dubois and FBI Special Agent Daniel Fuentes.¹ In 2003, Cardenas was captured after a shootout in Matamoros, and in 2007, Mexico extradited him and thirteen other suspected drug cartel members to the United States to face prosecution.²

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