Former Gulf Cartel Leader Osiel Cárdenas Guillén Deported to Mexico and Re-Arrested

The founder of Los Zetas faces multiple charges in Mexico after serving a U.S. prison sentence for drug trafficking and violent crimes.

Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, 57, was deported from the U.S. to Mexico on December 16, 2024, after serving 14 years of a 25-year federal prison sentence.
Mexican authorities immediately re-arrested Cárdenas upon his return and transferred him to the Altiplano maximum-security prison near Mexico City.
Cárdenas, once the leader of the Gulf Cartel and founder of the violent Los Zetas gang, faces charges in Mexico including organized crime, drug trafficking, homicide, and money laundering.
Known for his brutal tactics, Cárdenas transformed the Gulf Cartel by recruiting ex-special forces soldiers to form Los Zetas, a group infamous for extreme violence and diversification into extortion and kidnapping.
If convicted on all charges, Mexican prosecutors estimate Cárdenas could face a cumulative sentence of over 700 years in prison.