On Thursday, the United States charged Jose Alfredo Cardenas Martinez, alias El Contador, with several drug trafficking charges, whom U.S. authorities identify as the leader of the Mexican Gulf cartel.
The Justice Department said in a statement that Cardenas Martinez, who is currently being held in Mexico pending the U.S.'s request for his extradition, was formally charged before a federal court in Texas.
According to the prosecution, Cardenas Martinez, 42, has been the leader of the Gulf Cartel since 2015, following the arrest and conviction of the organization's previous leader, Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, nicknamed El Cos.
Cardenas Martinez faces the charge of coordinating “an international conspiracy to possess with the intention of distributing methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl,” the note notes.
According to the charges, “the conspiracy” to transport cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl to US soil began in 2015 and continued until 2021.
If found guilty, Cardenas Martinez could face life imprisonment and a $10 million fine.
The statement of indictment also includes a notice of confiscation of any income the defendant has earned and the properties he or she has used to facilitate his drug trafficking business.
Mexican authorities arrested El Contador earlier this month, which they identified as José Alfredo “N” and as leader of the Gulf cartel in Mexico City.
The Contador, the authorities specified, is the regional leader of the Gulf-Cyclones-Scorpiones cartel in Tamaulipas, which in addition to the trafficking of drugs and weapons is linked to different acts of violence such as those that occurred in Reynosa, where 15 people were killed in June last year.
The alleged offender was arrested in possession of a 0.380 caliber firearm and 600 white packages allegedly containing methamphetamines. It was placed at the disposal of the Attorney General's Office of Mexico City.
According to official Mexican information, the Contador had an arrest warrant against him issued by a judge in the state of Tamaulipas, so he was wanted throughout the country, since he is presumed to be involved in various crimes.
This is the third time that the Contador has been arrested, as he had already been arrested in 2018, when he was detained for only two days and in 2019, when he did step into prison but was released in October 2020.
The Gulf Cartel has lost steam in recent years, although it maintains a presence at the border, as well as in key distribution centers in Houston, Detroit and Atlanta, according to the DEA.
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