New Photo of Gulf Cartel Leader Osiel Cárdenas Emerges Months Before His Scheduled Prison Release

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

Osiel Cardenas-Guillen (pictured on the right) alongside an unidentified U.S. federal prison inmate. This photo was reportedly taken on December 15, 2023, and surfaced on social media a few days ago. The caption reads: "My brother with his friend Osiel Cárdenas." 

A photograph circulating on social media depicts the purported current appearance of Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, the former leader of the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, currently incarcerated in the US.

In the image, Cardenas Guillen is seen posing with another inmate who has not been identified. The ex-leader of the Gulf Cartel is dressed in a T-shirt and gray pants, paired with tennis shoes and a white watch. Meanwhile, his fellow inmate is wearing khaki pants, a gray long-sleeved shirt, and white tennis shoes.

Cardenas Guillen served as the top leader of the Gulf Cartel from 1999 to 2003. During his leadership, he recruited several ex-military members to establish the cartel's paramilitary wing, Los Zetas. At the peak of his influence, he became one of the most sought-after international fugitives. Arrested in Mexico in 2003, Cárdenas Guillén was subsequently extradited to the U.S. in 2007.

Initially sentenced to 25 years in prison without the possibility of parole in 2010, his sentence has undergone multiple reductions. As per the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Cárdenas Guillén's anticipated release date is set for August 30, 2024. He is currently in the USP Terre Haute in Indiana.

The name of Osiel Cárdenas Guillén has been misspelled as "Oziel" for many years in the database of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons. We cannot confirm if this was intentional. Borderland Beat was able to verify that his name was sometimes spelled as Oziel in older U.S. federal documents dating from the 1990s.

Imprisonment in the U.S.

When Cárdenas Guillén was extradited from Mexico to the U.S. in 2007, his location in the U.S. remained undisclosed. Subsequent court records revealed that his legal team successfully arranged for him to be held in two federal penitentiaries in Atlanta and Florida, affording him certain privileges.

In 2010, U.S. Federal Judge Hilda Tagle sentenced Cárdenas Guillén to 25 years in prison without parole. Following the sentencing, he was transferred to the notorious ADX Florence, a supermax facility known for housing the most dangerous inmates. Despite initially being scheduled for release in 2035, this date was later reduced to 2028 and further to 2025, accounting for his time served in Mexican custody and in the U.S. before his formal sentence.

Post-release questions

As a Mexican national without legal status in the U.S., Cárdenas Guillén should theoretically be deported to Mexico after serving his sentence (often termed as "No lawful return to the U.S." in court files). However, unlike other Gulf Cartel members indicted with him, the U.S. government did not order Cárdenas Guillén's removal from the U.S. after his sentence concludes.

Cárdenas Guillén provided valuable information to U.S. officials on the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas, and their rivals in exchange for a milder sentence. His testimonies were instrumental to law enforcement efforts and contributed to weakening the influence of his cartel. However, they also had unintended consequences.

The information he provided played a role in generating violence in Mexico as his cartel experienced schisms and fractures. If Cárdenas Guillén returns to Mexico, he is likely to face imminent danger. U.S. prosecutors have often dangled the incentive of U.S. visas before high-ranking Mexican drug kingpins to persuade them to become informants.

Moreover, it is likely that Cárdenas Guillén does not face drug charges in Mexico. According to Article 15 of the Extradition Treaty between Mexico and the U.S., the Mexican government will not extradite a Mexican national unless multiple conditions are met. Among these conditions are:

(1) A Mexican national cannot be extradited if facing trial or having outstanding charges in Mexico.

(2) A Mexican national can be extradited once sentenced or absolved.

(3) If the Mexican national is serving a sentence in Mexico, extradition to the U.S. is possible only on different charges, thereby avoiding double jeopardy.

As Cárdenas-Guillén was not sentenced while in Mexican custody, it implies that his charges were dropped in Mexico before his extradition to the U.S., in accordance with Article 15.

His scheduled release date is August 30, 2024.

Following the conclusion of his sentence, he will be subject to a five-year probation term and will be released from prison before reaching the age of 60.

Sources: X, Borderland Beat archives, BOP