Monday, August 4, 2025

Ex-Gulf Cartel boss loses appeal; 20-year prison sentence stands

Mario “El Metro” Cárdenas, ex-leader of the Gulf Cartel and brother of former leader Osiel Cárdenas, has lost his appeal against a 20-year prison sentence.

If the former cartel boss stays in Mexico he could walk free in 2032 due to time already served. But it’s possible he will be extradited to the U.S. to face additional charges in Texas, where he is wanted for conspiracy.

A federal judge authorized his extradition in October of last year but Cárdenas petitioned against the order on grounds that Covid represented a health risk.

Navy marines arrested Cárdenas in September 2012 in Tamaulipas, when he tried to enter a building with a large firearm. In addition to the weapon, he was found to be carrying 129,000 pesos (US $6,400 at today’s exchange rate) in cash and four small bags of cocaine.

Cárdenas was originally sentenced in June of 2019, which his lawyers appealed. He previously served time for organized crime after an arrest in 1995. He was further found to be trafficking large amounts of cocaine and marijuana from inside the Matamoros prison, and was transferred to the Puente Grande prison in Jalisco. He was released in 2007.

Cárdenas’ brother Osiel is currently serving a sentence in the U.S. after having been extradited in 2007. He is known for having recruited the paramilitary group Los Zetas as the armed division of the Gulf Cartel. His release is scheduled for 2028.

The Gulf Cartel is based in Tamaulipas but operates in a number of states. Mario Cárdenas served as its co-leader along with Jorge Eduardo Costilla after another brother, Ezequiel Cárdenas, was killed by marines in 2010.

Source: Infobae (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
ABC Daycare protest

Mexico asks US to extradite former daycare owner convicted of manslaughter

1
The co-owner of ABC Daycare Center, where a fire in 2009 claimed the lives of 49 young children and babies, was a fugitive in the United States until her recent arrest in Arizona.
Drug bust on boat in French Polynesia

Sailboat carrying US $381M in drugs from Mexico intercepted in French Polynesia

0
French Polynesia’s vast maritime zone comprises 5.5 million square kilometers, making it a popular route for traffickers to ship their drugs from South American and Mexican sources to the Australian market.
sending remittances via Western Union

Remittances to Mexico plummet 16.2% in June, the biggest drop in over a decade

6
The double-digit drop was the most of any June on record, bringing the annual decline in remittances in the first half of 2025 to nearly US $2B.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity