E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Yuri Cortez / AFP - Getty Images
Mario Cardenas Guillen, aka "El M-1" an alleged leader of the Gulf drug cartel, stands during his presentation to the press Tuesday in Mexico City.
Mexican marines have captured Mario Cardenas Guillen, "El Gordo," the leader of the country's Gulf Cartel, Mexico's attorney general told Telemundo.
Cardenas, along with Eduardo Costilla, "El Cos," controlled the criminal organization, Telemundo reported. Cardenas is the brother of Osiel Cardenas Guillen, the Gulf Cartel leader arrested in 2003 and extradited to the United States in 2007.
Mario Cardenas will have his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon, Telemundo said.
Watch World News videos on NBCNews.com
Cardenas' is one of the highest-profile arrests in months in President Felipe Calderon's war on drug gangs, a senior Mexican navy source told Reuters on Tuesday.
Wearing a blue flak jacket and flip-flops and flanked by two masked marines wielding semiautomatic rifles, the balding Cardenas, also called "Fatso," stood impassively, looking up occasionally, as officials in Mexico City read out details of the operation to capture him.
An official said he was caught with weapons, ammunition, around $10,000 worth of pesos in cash, and four small envelopes containing a white powder that appeared to be cocaine.
"The capture was carried out following an infantry operation yesterday in Altamira, Tamaulipas, as (Cardenas) brandished a large weapon in the entrance of a building," Navy spokesman Vice Admiral Jose Luis Vergarathe said.
Cardenas, who has run the cartel since his brother, former leader Antonio Cardenas or "Tony Tormenta," was killed in a 2010 gunfight with the Mexican government, was captured in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas on Monday, the source told Reuters.
The Gulf Cartel's power has waned in recent years in a feud with Mexico's most brutal gang, the Zetas, which began life providing protection to the Gulf Cartel's operations in northeastern Mexico.
Cardenas was arrested and convicted on organized crime charges in 1995. He was first incarcerated in a prison in the city of Matamoros, across the U.S.-Mexico border from Brownsville, Texas, where he was caught organizing large shipments of cocaine and marijuana from inside the prison walls.
In 2003, he was transferred to the Puente Grande prison in western Mexico, the same facility where Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, head of the Sinaloa cartel and Mexico's most wanted man, escaped in a laundry cart in 2001.
Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter
Osiel Cardenas was sentenced in 2010 to 25 years in prison during a highly secretive hearing closed to the public to protect the lives of everyone involved, The New York Times reported at the time. The Gulf Cartel controlled much of the cocaine traffic across the border in South Texas, and Osiel Cardenas agreed to cooperate with the federal government, according to a hearing transcript.
During Calderon's six-year offensive against cartels, there have been more than 55,000 drug-related killings. More than 3,000 police and soldiers have died, although many were involved with the gangs.
This article includes reporting by Reuters.
More world stories from NBC News:
- Chinese media: 'Many Chinese people dislike Hillary'
- In parts of China, BYO school supplies include desks
- Pistorious sorry for timing, not content, of Paralympics outburst
- 77-year-old Japanese man asks US mayor to look for items lost in tsunami
- Sun Myung Moon, founder of Unification Church, dies at 92
- Girl accused of blasphemy in Pakistan may have been framed by Muslim cleric
Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
Somehow "Hurricane Gordo" just doesn't sound right.
Hopefully someday our authorities catch a big American druglord. It just doesn´t happen. It doesnt make any sense a criminal in a remote area in mexico can control the complex transit and distribution inside the US. Our DEA is either highly inefficient or highly corrupt.
Hopefully, the Mexican government can keep this one from escaping!
Es, or both.
And this will stop them? Only war against Mexico will!
And during an election year?????
I wonder how much Obama had to pay Mexico to finally do a job they should have done over 30 years ago?
Anyone who knows anything about the Mexican cartels will tell you that this arrest is a bad thing for the US and Mexican citizens. The Cardenas brothers were very strict in how they operated. Their intent was to always keep a low profile, never harm innocent civilians on this side of the border or in Mexico, and tried only to do damage to rival cartels, which is the complete opposite of how the Zetas operate. Doing anything to bring down the Gulf Coast Cartel will only destabilize security in the areas that they operate. They have kept the Zetas in check for a long time in the Matamoros-Reynosa area where I have lived, which means security for the citizens. Anyone who says otherwise does not know what they are talking about.
Its not a bad thing for the US. The US does not fear the zetas nor do we have any reason to. We can find terrorist hiding in caves in the mountains of the middle east. So far, out of respect for international law and the Mexican people we have not yet started a drone war on the cartels but thats always an option. This is one population they do not want to mess with. In Mexico it may be quite different but on this side of the border there is not any fear. To portray these terrorist organizations such as the Gulf Coast cartel as some sort of good guy or hero is delusional.
@johngis
I never said they were good guys. Thye just try to keep their operations low-key so as not to try to bring attention to themselves, and one way to do that is to leave innocents alone. They understand that.
Also, you clearly do not live near the border. We have incidents here routinely that do not get reported. Zetas have lobbed grenades into bars here in the Valley (actually reported nationally), but maybe you do not consider that as "they do not want to mess with us". I don't know what you mean by that.
As someone who lived in Matamoros, and whose wife is from Matamoros, let me tell you, spellchecker is absolutely correct. The Gulf Cartel kept a low profile, and actually cut down on street crime in the city, in order to smooth out things with the local populace and have essentially free reign in how they conducted their business. The zetas... who are pretty nuts to begin with, have actually not been fighting the cartels as much as committing terrorist acts against the cities that are home to the cartels. They're murdering innocents and destroying everything, because they're trying to cut out that sense of security the cartels created. That way, they can scare the local population into giving up everything they know on the cartels, so the zetas can have their way.
The difference (for American's who only know movies)
1: The old cartels - Godfather - old world mafia, protects the neighborhood, demands respect, and protects those who give it to them.
2: The Zetas - Al Qaida and American soldiers during Vietnam - they burn out and slaughter entire villages in order to "send a message" and terrorize the populace. Life means nothing to them, and killing someone is just another tool in their book.
I'm not saying I don't want to see the cartels go down, but if the Zetas gain control, you can bet that the violence won't stay just south of the Rio Grande.
The only actual solution is what the USA did to get rid of Mafia power - they ended prohibition.
Alright another win for the Mexican Marines. Was just reading an article the other day regarding their willingness to go after targets that the police, Federales, army, and other groups that should be on the front lines fail to go after.
Congrats on the catch! Maybe, just maybe it will soon be safe to go back into Mexico.
I wish that were true in the norther regions. I can tell you that gunfire has injured or killed many an innocent in Tijuana and on down to Rosarito. Additionally, there have been a number of kidnappings. No, it will take some significant action on the government of Mexice before most people in San Diego will resume our trips across the border.
San Diegan here, GuyFromSanDIego is full of it. I go to TJ every weekend and rarely do I hear anything unless I see it on the news.
I also wonder if the Mexican Marines used that new Assault Rifle they just developed.
In case anyone is wondering:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FX-05_Xiuhcoatl
You are correct the Mexican Marines are well trained and highly motivated. Corruption in the Marines have not been a problem which is why they are always used in the most dangerous and important operations. Congrats on a job well done.
You kill me echelon64! You think because you have not personnaly viewed a situation that there is no problem? If you go down to TJ and have been for years are you also telling me you don't see a SIGNIFICANTLY decreased number of Americans on Revolution Ave? If you are saying this I don't believe you are a San Diegan.
If you really want to know you should read the Baja Insider travel info, or the US Dept of State warning which says in part:
You think they make this stuff up? LMAO, and that is "gently worded" because the State Dept does not want to offend the Mexican government.
Enjoy your trips, stay safe. But be aware.
Obama isn't gonna get credit for this one too?
No, this one was Romney. He let slip that he and Gordo launder their money at the same bank in the Cayman Islands.
This story is not about the US election.
Good choice. I launder mine there as well. Whatever. Zzzzzzz
Great job to the Mexican Marines, they are one of the few forces in the country that people actually trust.
Some credit deserves to go to Calderon too. It is sad that his part couldn't get re-elected to finish the job. Now with the return of the corrupt party, they'll make deals with the Drug gangs and they'll be allowed to flourish again.
I was thinking the same thing. He'll probably be released when the other party takes over.
In Mexico, you can't be President for two consecutive terms. And the new Pres, Enrique Pena-Nieto has the same views on combating the drug trafficking and all other crimes as Calderon did.
Doesn't matter. They took down a high profile drug lord. Doesn't mean that the marines took down the rest of his network, or the Low profile Leitenants, and Captains, or the ever present enforcers.
This guy should be sentenced to die, for the thousands of people he ordered to be executed. But mexico is so catholic, and their death sentancing is a joke.
He'll end up in a prison, with a cellphone, a bunch of enforcers, and then in a year or two there will be a jailbreak where hundreds of scum will get free. The mexican congress is a joke. Many on their congress actively WORK for the drug cartels. And two of them are former Cartel members!
KeyOrion, Mexico´s prohibition of the death sentence has nothing to do with the majority of the population being Catholic. Actually there is a complete separation of State and Church. Most developed Countries in the world have abolish the death penalty long ago. Even in the US the death penalty is legal only in some states.
ES: You're right. The us want to keep up with other countries that still have the death penalty. Like Iran and China.
Is there such thing as a former Cartel member?
The invariable result of such arrests is increased violence as the replacement leaders compete for power. As long as there is drug prohibition in the US, there will be drug cartels in Mexico. The Calderon policy of confronting them with the military has been a disaster. Nieto will make a deal to reduce violence. It's the PRI way.
So finally, we've won the war on drugs! Oh wait, the price of drugs is lower than ever meaning the supplies are at all time highest levels, and the quality is up too. The best way, the only way to win this war, is to stop fighting it. Legalize and tax everything. Cartels out of business overnight. The taxes and savings would fund free college tuition for everyone.
The war on crime WILL continue. We must not give in to druggies and other criminals.
Tumbleweed,
That's what they said about criminals who illegally gave aid to runaway slaves. In that case freedom loving people who believed a person has the right to do what he wants with his own body, broke the law repeatedly, until the unjust law was overturned. The same is true of laws that infringe my right to inhale as much pot as I want to, as long as I don't exhale in somebody else's face. We will keep breaking these personal freedom and personal responsibility violating laws until they no longer exist. 30 million potheads can't be wrong, nor can we all be locked up.
I'm sure for the right amount of money he can buy himself a pardon from Obama and a green card. Then he can stay here in America and help this Socialist Pig destroy what's left of this great nation. Obama does do one thing well though he puts those lips to good use on his boyfriends manhood. That's about all he's good for
Wow, you're an ass.
overunder-6628346
You are an ignorant ass !
& no, I don't care if the mods can my comment as my statement is so obviously the truth.
Watch yer back chumps! Bang bang!
He Looks like sucker frog with rat hair sticking out his ears... You'd expect something better from someone who claime's he's so famous!!!! Get a barber!
Cobra - totally argee with your words! I visit Mexico regularly from England. I am a female, who travels around the country with no hassles! Keep your eyes open, enjoy with warmth and friendliness of the Mexican people and you will have the best time! I'm flying back to Mexico tomorrow for a two week visit, alone, and so looking forward to it! Viva Mexico siempre!!!
Did he get the nickname for his huge melon of a head?
That's cool.
big deal , someone else will just step up in his place, u.s. will never win the war on drugs, we should just guard our borders and order border patrol to shoot on sight, any mexican trying to enter our country.
Unfortunately you're right.
We will never stop murder or robbery either.
The weak will always want mind altering drugs.
Does anyone else besides me think it's curious that a big drug kingpin like El Gordo was caught with four small envelopes of a white substance on him? I mean, it's not like he makes deliveries himself. Unless he partakes, which of course would be an occupational hazard, I suppose.
In certain circles of life even a couple grams can be worth more than gold. Besides you can be certain much more was some wear nearby.
If you just shot him it would solve the problem.
The brutality we see in Mexico is largely fueled by American dollars. It doesn't matter whether you a recreational drug user or a slave to drugs you are the ones funding these criminal enterprises. We read about the mass killings in Mexico but please remembers these people destroy lives on both sides of the border through the cancer of drug addiction. A big THANK YOU to the Mexican government for facing up to this difficult challenge. The solution is not stopping the supply, rather reducing, or better yet , eliminating the demand.
It doesn't matter. Someone else has already stepped up and taken his place.
The Zetas seem to pay the best.
Read, Dope, Inc.: The Book That Drove Henry Kissinger Crazy, if you want some insight into the REAL drug lords! This book lays the blame for the international drug epidemic on the doorstep of the Wall street and London banksters, the governments of the US and Great Britain, their military goons (the American mlitary is guarding poppy fields in Afghanistan so the CIA and MI6 can distribute opium around the world and grow rich and fat) and a number of famous people including Henry Kissinger.
This was a "big bust" worthy of world attention. He had 10,000 pesos and 4 grams of cocaine. Wow!! Great job. I think we should send Arizona Tumbleweed down there to clean things up. He sure seems to know a lot about nothing. "The weak will always want mind altering drugs." Now there's a quote for Newsweek. How about this: The ignorant will always find ways to deny the truth and rationalize facts to their own liking." Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Tumbleweed! I've read your ignorant posts for months. You need a check up from the neck up.
P.S. Yes, I was being facetious about the big bust...just in case you didn't get it, Tumblebrain.
good job too the mexican marines. now,if the crooked goverment can keep him in jail would be better. better yet,take him out back with a single round too the back of the head. problem solved with him. now,until mexico cleans house on all the drug kings, there will be no peace.
SEMPER FI
DANNY P
I've spent enough time in Baja to know that there will be some kind of retaliation and power vacuum.
Yes, the Mexican military have stepped up on inspections on Mexico 1 (highway 1) And they have curtailed a lot of the smuggling up the Baja Peninsula. I've seen enough in my 20+ years of spending time in Baja to know that something will happen. I applaud President Calderon on his efforts. It is coming at a price. True, most times the rivalry is between the Cartels. But innocents do get caught in the crossfire. Police get hit's put out on them. I don't suppose anyone remembers the 12 decapitated bodies of policemen near Rosarita Beach just a few years ago? Or the elderly couple coming out of Bahia Los Angeles who were murdered. Or the all the untold stories of people getting robbed near San Quintin. I've seen some crazy stuff over the years. Like shrimp boats backing up to the beach in the middle of the night on an isolated beach, watching the headlights going back and forth all night long. Only to see the scariest looking guy I have ever seen the next morning. I turned my head. I didn't want o see what they looked like. And I damn sure didn't want them knowing what I looked like. DC9's landing on isolated runways/graded roads on another isolated beach. DC9's flying so low in the middle of the night with no lights on, that you could feel the air moving from it as it comes off of the ocean. Tree top level. a low tree. Most folks don't even know how much the Baja Peninsula is used for trafficking. They have made progress. But I do know one thing, it's not over. There will be something that happens because of this bust. There's just way too much money involved.
Oh, these comments about our President? Just make you look ignorant.
I love Mexico. I built a home there. Just outside of San Jose Del Cabo, out on the coast. I see what goes on. I still plan on retiring there. You just have to know your surroundings, and be aware. And listen to your instincts when they start screaming at you.
not gonna lie your story kinda creeped me out. I was able to produce a mini-movie in my head with all the details. Im a lil fascinated with the drug game. I don't condone it, but it's amazing how intricate it is. Ok I'm just rambling now.... zzzzzz
Most of the posh tourist areas are safe. for the most part anyway. They must have some kind of agreement. In the last 5 or 6 years, Los Cabos, in particular, San Jose del Cabo, has had some very posh hotels built there to accommodate the tourists. Ya gotta wonder where that kind of money came from. Because it wasn't just one or two big beautiful hotels. it was more like 6 or 8, very nice and posh digs. serious money. gotta watch out for kidnappings. don't go around looking wealthy. dress down. as for trouble? not much in town. Just shrimp boats sitting right off the coast. at night. you can't stop it. who ever said up above that the only way to stop it is to stop the demand. is right. and that ain't gonna happen. Me? I don't use drugs. I like my beer and occasional sip of tequila. I suppose we'll find out when the next President of Mexico is elected. Calderon has been a good President for Mexico. Fox was ok. but he didn't do much to control the drug trade. I suppose he liked living too much. And the money. Calderon? the guy has balls.
ATTN: "the US doesn't fear Los Zetas: speak for yourself!
And Cardenas across from Brownsville: get this Feb 2012 the fat butt dyke National Insecurity no can enforce noting...declared to all her PRO BORDERS INVADERS, NON PROFITs LA RAZA et all; Catholic Church immigration aiding abettores...
The BORDERS are safer than ever... too bad they were not concerned for whom the lie tolls?
And Cardenas was there safe doing his thing...
Ain't it great to know your tax dollars go to TRAITWHORES WITHIN...
PS Devout Muslims are Direct WHITE HOUSE hires to Homeland Insecurity to monitor things like what I just displayed if they let me!