Federal immigration authorities have brought a reputed drug lord back to Mexico after spending years in a maximum-security prison in the United States.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents deported Mexican national Osiel Cárdenas Guillen to his home country on Monday, the agency confirmed. press release. Cárdenas, who once led the Gulf Cartel and its notorious offshoot Los Zetas, has been turned over to Mexican authorities who are seeking him on murder and other cartel-related charges. (Related: ‘Unprecedented violence’: Sheriff details deadly consequences of border crisis in exclusive testimony)

“Our successful removal of notorious international fugitive Osiel Cárdenas affirms our unwavering commitment to public safety and justice,” said Samuel Olson, director of Operation Enforcement and Elimination Chicago Field Office, in a prepared statement. mentioned in. “By extraditing this dangerous man to Mexico, where he faces serious charges, we have taken an important step in protecting our community and upholding the rule of law. ”

The violent drug lord, who has clashed with Mexican and U.S. authorities since the 1990s, was initially arrested during a gunfight with Mexican troops and transferred to U.S. custody.

Cárdenas, 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. At the time, the criminal organization was one of Mexico’s major drug smuggling organizations, controlling large amounts of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana flowing into the United States.

The drug lord was finally captured in 2003 during a violent raid by Mexican troops on several homes in Matamoros, in which two soldiers were seriously injured. Cárdenas’ men opened fire on the soldiers and also threw hand grenades at them before they were eventually arrested.

Cartel kingpins are credited with engaging in incredibly violent tactics, including decapitations, leading some of Mexico’s most violent gang wars, and transforming the drug trafficking industry. According to Reuters. He was eventually taken into custody in the United States and sentenced to 25 years in prison for his crimes.

Cárdenas’ deportation comes as President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to return to office in January. Republican leaders, along with the person slated to take charge of hard-line immigration policies, are calling on U.S. authorities to change the way they treat Mexican drug cartels. In other words, the next administration wants to designate cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs).

“The drug cartels are waging war against America, and now is the time for America to wage war against the drug cartels,” then-presidential candidate Trump said. December 2023and declared that his plan to fight the cartels included designating them FTOs.

President Trump’s allies in Congress have already introduced such legislation, saying something needs to be done to stem the violence south of the border.

“What we need to do is make sure we approach cartels legally as dangerous organizations,” Texas Congressman Chip Roy told the Daily Caller News Foundation in November. I think so,” he said, adding: Alternative designations are welcome, as long as U.S. authorities have all the tools at their disposal. “We need to consider all necessary actions to stop them.”

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