Cartel Boss Busted During Texas Shopping Trip

Gulf cartel once again has room at the top
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 22, 2014 3:22 AM CDT
Updated Oct 22, 2014 4:55 AM CDT
Cartel Boss Busted During Texas Shopping Trip
This picture of the youthful cartel boss aired on local media.   (Luis Mendoza)

Juan Francisco Saenz-Tamez was ruthless enough to become chief of Mexico's Gulf cartel at the age of 23—but apparently not smart enough to avoid visiting the US, even after a federal jury indicted him on three drug and money-laundering counts. Saenz-Tamez was busted during a shopping trip to Edinburg, Texas, earlier this month and made his first court appearance yesterday, reports the AP. He is the cocaine and marijuana-trafficking cartel's third leader in three years, following the arrest of cartel chiefs in 2012 and 2013, and faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Saenz-Tamez "moved steadily up the cartel ranks, working as a lookout, record keeper, plaza boss, and finally its leader," and the Drug Enforcement Administration "watched his progression" and then pounced when he was in the US, the agency says. The once-dominant Gulf cartel has weakened in recent years as rivals gain strength, says a security expert at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics in Mexico City who had never heard of Saenz-Tamez before. "It's a cartel that is in decline," he tells the Los Angeles Times. "The truth is that this organization is not as relevant as it used to be." (More Gulf Cartel stories.)

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