Posted on 10/26/2011 3:27:53 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
The nephew of imprisoned Gulf Cartel kingpin Osiel Cardenas Guillen was arrested by U.S. authorities in Port Isabel during a traffic stop.
Rafael El Junior Cardenas Vela was arrested Thursday night by Port Isabel police and was later charged by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents with immigration charges as well as possession and conspiracy to possess narcotics with intent to distribute, court records show.
As of Tuesday night, Rafael Cardenas remained in federal custody.
Cardenas was pulled over while he drove in a personal vehicle with an attractive woman, a local law enforcement official confirmed.
Rather than get an infraction, the Matamoros plaza boss was arrested in what appears to be a larger operation that had been targeting him. Cardenas, also known as El 900s, is also the nephew of the late Antonio Ezekiel Tony Tormenta Cardenas Guillen.
At the time of his arrest, the younger Cardenas tried to pass off a passport identifying him as Pedro Garcia Gonzalez, court records showed. Once in custody, Cardenas was interviewed by ICE agents, and he admitted to having been involved in the transportation and importation of marijuana and cocaine into the U.S. for several years.
One of the drug loads he admitted to was larger than 5 tons of marijuana.
After the death of his uncle, Cardenas continued to climb the ranks but was kept in line by some of the older lieutenants, who tried to help him lose his short fuse and rash behavior, said a source outside law enforcement familiar with organized crime in Mexico. The lieutenants were grooming Cardenas to be the heir of the cartel.
Cardenas was one of the main lieutenants who incorporated the usage of road blockades to keep authorities at bay during shootouts.
The source said Cardenas had been staying in the U.S. on and off.
Cardenas had been known to hide at a house in Brownsville near the airport, where a short shootout took place July 8. The shootout was reportedly carried out by a team of Zetas who clashed with Cardenas guards, seeking to capture or kill Cardenas. The shootout reportedly lasted 15 minutes with no casualties.
...the official also said his female companion was determined to be not guilty, and released.
Ping!
he was profiled no doubt.......
KRGV reports, Accused Gulf Cartel Leader Waives Court Appearance.
So, this guy has a number of bodyguards with him. He was holed up in a house in Brownsville (that's in Texas, USA, correct?) with his guards around him. A "team" of Zetas crossed the border (I guess) and fought a 15 minute gun battle with his guards. In Brownsville! Ok, I've got it now.
The Brownsville account is certainly unusual in that there were no heads in a duffel bag, bodies suspended from bridges or the like. Prohibition-era gang warfare was tame by comparison.
So Zetas missed could not kill this guy . Interesting.
A Houston paper says he was being driven to South Padre Island by 3 bodyguards when their pickup was pulled over by police, who were working with federal agents and had been tipped to his whereabouts. Nothing about an attractive woman.
Hammer, how do two drug gangs have a 15 minute gun battle in an American city and the cops don’t get involved?
Better yet, how do they have a 15 minute shoot out without anyone getting hit?
Cmon down with the rest of the snowbirds, and I will show you.
77 is full of Rv’s and three car tows going south. I am not a snowbird. I am from the the LRGV.
The cartels and Zetas go north and the snowbirds come south. They meet in the valley. Two weeks ago the Border Patrol
( La Migra) pulled two wets out from under my girlfriends house. The head roll across the dance floors and PERRY does NOTHING!
As a matter of fact my girlfriend works for “The Monitor”
the Paper this post came from.
Damn good question - and one that several Brownsville-area bloggers have asked in connection with this article. Here's the closest thing I could find (about halfway through the linked story):
“how do they have a 15 minute shoot out without anyone getting hit?”
Both sides were shooting from inside armored cars?
Cool. My wife and I both worked for the Monitor and then the Brownsville Herald in the late 70's early 80's. Still have family in La Feria and Mission. I hear the snowbirds are flocking in for the winter.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.