A notorious Mexican drug lord who led a bloodthirsty cartel has been expelled from the United States and handed over to Mexican authorities, who say he is wanted on murder and other charges.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Monday that Osiel Cárdenas Guillen, 57, has been safely handed over to Mexican police after spending 14 years in U.S. custody, the majority of a 25-year sentence in the U.S. .
Mexican authorities immediately rearrested Cárdenas Guillén and took him to the country's maximum-security Altiplano prison, just west of Mexico City, a federal official told The Associated Press. The official, who was not authorized to be named, said the charges were related to drugs, organized crime and money laundering.
ICE announced that Cárdenas Guillen is wanted in Mexico on charges of murder and illegal possession of a firearm. He is believed to have been deported to Mexico because he is a Mexican citizen.
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ICE announced Monday that Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, 57, returned to Mexico and was turned over to Mexican authorities. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
ICE shared a photo of Cárdenas Guillen wearing glasses and balding. He was once feared throughout Mexico for his violent reputation. The former drug lord's hands were shackled, and two police officers wearing helmets and bulletproof vests held each arm down.
Cárdenas Guillen is seen leaving federal court after pleading not guilty to charges related to running a cartel in Houston on February 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)
Cárdenas Guillén's nickname was “El Mata Amigos,'' or “The Killer of Friends.'' The 57-year-old once led the Gulf Cartel, based in the border city of Reynosa, and made millions of dollars by moving large quantities of cocaine. And Matamoros.
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He later founded the Zetas, the deadliest group of assassins in Mexican history. According to the Associated Press, they routinely carried out acts of terror, slaughtering and decapitating dozens of people and leaving piles of dismembered bodies on the roads.
Osiel Cárdenas Guillén is escorted by Mexican Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in Mexico City in January 2007. (Reuters/Attorney General's Office)
Cárdenas Guillén was eventually arrested in 2003 and extradited to the United States four years later.
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In 2010, Cárdenas Guillén was sentenced to 25 years in prison for assault and death threats against federal officers, and was ordered to forfeit $50 million from his criminal enterprises.
FOX News' Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
