- Osiel Cárdenas
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name = Osiel Cárdenas Guillen
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birth_date = May 18, 1967
birth_place =Matamoros, Tamaulipas ,México
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citizenship = México
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known_for = Drug TrafficingMurder
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occupation = Mechanic
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footnotes =Osiel Cardenas Guillen, born May 18, 1967 in
Matamoros, Tamaulipas ,México , is the symbolic leader of theGulf Cartel (Cartel del Golfo). Originally a mechanic in Matamoros, he entered the Gulf Cartel by helpingChava Gomez (the capo at the time) and he later took control by killing Gomez, earning Cardenas the nickname "el Mata Amigos" (The Friend-Killer).In 1999, in Matamoros, he allegedly threatened to kill two U.S. federal agents (one from the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and another from theDrug Enforcement Administration ) who were transporting a Gulf Cartel informant through Matamoros. Cardenas and more than a dozen of his men surrounded the agents' car near downtown. After a tense standoff, the agents were able to talk their way out of being killed by reminding Cardenas that the U.S. would hunt him for the rest of his life. After the incident, the Federal Bureau of Investigation would offer a $2 million award for Cardenas' arrest.Cardenas was captured by the Mexican Army in a battle between Gulf Cartel soldiers and the
Mexican Army onMarch 14 ,2003 in Matamoros. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2852197.stm BBC News -" 'Drug boss' captured in Mexico"] ] Though subsequently incarcerated at La Palma, México's top securityprison , it was widely believed that he continued to have control over Gulf Cartel business from within prison walls.On January 20, 2007, he was extradited to the United States to stand trial for
conspiracy toimport multi-kilogram quantities ofcocaine into theUnited States , as well as the 1999 incident involving the two U.S. Federal Agents. [ [http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/01/mexico-extradites-cartel-kingpins-to.php JURIST - "Mexico extradites cartel kingpins to US"] ]Jailed or not, on May 1, 2008, Cardenas threw a Day of the Child party for 2,000 people in
Ciudad Acuña on the Gulf Coast, replete with banners, clowns, food and music. [ [http://borderreporter.com/?p=466 BorderReporter.com - "Happy Children’s Day, Love Grandpa Cocaine"] ]References
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