Antonio Cárdenas Guillén, Mexican drug lord, was killed during a shootout with the Mexican Army

Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén , nicknamed Tony Tormenta, was a Mexican drug lord and was one of the two leaders of the criminal organization known as the Gulf Cartel. Antonio was brother of Osiel Cárdenas Guillén and a partner of Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez was killed during a shootout with the Mexican Army.

(March 5, 1962 – November 5, 2010)

Biography

Cárdenas is believed to have begun his drug trafficking career during the late 1980s, rising through the ranks of the Gulf Cartel and becoming its leader after the arrest of his brother Osiel Cárdenas Guillén on March 14, 2003.^[2] Antonio, along with other Gulf Cartel associates, was responsible for multi-ton shipments of marijuana and cocaine from Mexico to the United States.

The Gulf Cartel, originally founded in Mexico the 1930s to smuggle whiskey and other illicit commodities into the United States, expanded significantly by the 1970s under Juan García Abrego, who became the first drug trafficker to be placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List.^[3]Following his 1996 arrest by Mexican authorities and subsequent deportation to the United States, Oscar Malherbe De León took control of the cartel until his arrest a short time later. He was replaced by Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, who was arrested in 2003, and extradited to the United States in 2007. The Gulf Cartel currently controls most of the cocaine and marijuana trafficking through the Matamoros, Tamaulipas corridor to the United States. The Attorney General of Mexico suspects that his partner Jorge Eduardo Costilla has taken full control of the Gulf Cartel.^[4]

Cárdenas was one of the eleven 'Most Wanted' Mexican fugitives sought by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).^[5] He was charged in a 2008 federal indictment in the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Department of State was offering a reward of up to $5 millionUSD for information leading to his arrest,^[1][6] while the Attorney General of Mexico was offering a 30 million pesos bounty (about $2.5 million USD).^[7]

On November 5, 2010, Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén was killed during a shootout with the Mexican Army and the Mexican Marine officers in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas.^[8][9] Four other suspected members of the cartel,^[10] two marines,^[11] and a news reporter were killed during the military operation.

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