Exclusive: Osiel's Extraordinary US Prison Term
A penitentiary captain spills the beans on how the Gulf Cartel boss was locked up in Texas
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The Gulf Cartel boss Osiel Cárdenas founded the Zetas paramilitary force, who escalated the Mexican drug war into a hellish bloodbath. Yet during part of his incarceration in the United States, he was kept in extraordinary conditions, with a whole cell block to himself, access to the internet, and extra hour visits from his family and model girlfriend.
The conditions of Osiel, revealed for the first time here, were described to CrashOut by a former correctional officer captain who personally attended to the drug lord during his time in a federal detention center in Conroe, Texas from 2008 to 2009. Federal agents kept Osiel in these exceptional conditions as he was working to hand over tens of millions of dollars in asset seizures, as you can read about here.
Osiel’s life was also considered to be in danger as former associates, perhaps from the Zetas mob, had put a price on his head, the captain said. He believes that Osiel was finally transferred after an attempt to kill him by Texas gang members in the penitentiary, who were acting on the contract.
Osiel is now incarcerated in Mexico’s top security prison. But the U.S. conditions of the Gulf Cartel boss are especially relevant as we struggle to get information on other major cartel operatives who are cooperating with U.S. agents, such as the sons of El Chapo, Ovidio and Joaquín Guzmán Jr. Furthermore, El Cuini, the financial brain of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, may also come to an agreement that could include asset seizures, while El Mayo has had his sentence hearing delayed after promises to help the U.S. government seize billions in cocaine profits. It shows how the U.S. justice system give benefits to drug lords, like they get in Latin America, albeit in a different way.
The captain described how Osiel was held in a fake name and only officers with the rank of captain and above were allowed to attend to him and to bring him food, an extraordinary rule as lower-ranking prison guards normally deliver meals. He said Osiel was polite and courteous.
“His hair was cut like a doctor or a lawyer. He was always manicured,” the captain said. “Visiting hours are normally from 8 am to 5 pm. But he had visits…”
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