Former Mexico cartel leader's nephew indicted in Texas

MCALLEN, Texas | Fri Nov 18, 2011 8:43pm EST

MCALLEN, Texas (Reuters) - A federal grand jury in Texas charged a powerful former cartel chief's nephew on Friday in a drug and money laundering conspiracy that stretched across the United States.

Rafael Cardenas Vela, 38, was arrested last month in South Texas, and has been held without bond. He is the nephew of Osiel Cardenas, the former leader of the brutal Gulf cartel, who was extradited to the United States in 2007 and is currently serving a 25-year sentence.

The indictment said Cardenas Vela has been an active player in the cartel since 2000, when he first assumed control of operations in San Fernando, in Tamaulipas state in northeast Mexico.

Since March, he has acted as chief of the cartel's hometown of Matamoros, Mexico, across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas, where he helped manage a distribution network that pushed narcotics to cities in the northern United States and returned the proceeds to Mexico, the indictment said.

U.S. and Mexican authorities were cooperating closely to clamp down on drug trafficking and cross-border crime from Mexico, where more than 44,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calderon took office five years ago and sent the military to crush the drug cartels.

Jerry Robinette, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent in charge in San Antonio, Texas, said the agency had made "stability and security to this border region" a priority.

"Holding those responsible and accountable for these crimes is the first step," Robinette said in a statement.

While Mexican authorities have captured or killed a number of cartel kingpins in recent years, many of the gangs have splintered under the increased pressure.

Among key combatants battling for lucrative turf in northern Mexico is the Gulf cartel, which is now fighting the Zetas, its former paramilitary enforcers.

The indictment said Cardenas Vela used drug trafficking proceeds to bribe Mexican police officers and purchase bulletproof vehicles, firearms, grenades and homemade cannons used by the Gulf cartel in its fight against the Zetas.

U.S. federal authorities have also moved to seize $20 million in cash and two houses linked to Cardenas Vela in South Texas. He faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted of the drug conspiracy and up to $10 million in fines.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/ ... 2W20111119