Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, a prominent figure in the Mexican drug trafficking world as the founder of the Gulf Cartel, is set to regain his freedom soon, according to information from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons.

 

According to official records, Cárdenas Guillén, also known as 'El Mata Amigos' (The Friend Killer), will be released from the Terre Haute high-security penitentiary in Indiana on August 30, 2024.

 

Born in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Cárdenas Guillén began his criminal career in cocaine trafficking, initially arrested in 1992 in Texas. Before his extradition to the United States, he faced multiple charges in Mexico for various crimes, including homicide and drug trafficking.

 

In 2007, after leading the Gulf Cartel, he was extradited and tried in the United States for drug trafficking, money laundering, and extortion of federal agents. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and a significant fine, serving part of his sentence at the ADX Florence maximum-security prison before being transferred to Terre Haute in 2019.