Cartel thug gets 5 years for standoff
Ex-policeman found guilty of threat to kill 2 U.S. agents
By DANE SCHILLER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Sept. 18, 2009, 10:55PM


Juan Carlos De La Cruz Reyna, a former police officer turned drug-cartel thug, was among a crew of gangsters chomping at the bit to fire on two U.S. federal agents caught in Mexico 10 years ago.

Now, he's headed to a U.S. prison for five years for threatening to assault and murder them, according to a sentence handed down Friday in Houston federal court.

His fellow mobster, a college-educated money man, will join him. Ruben Sauceda Rivera, who pleaded guilty to a money-laundering conspiracy involving $47 million, was sentenced to nearly 13 years.

Both were in the Gulf Cartel and loyal to accused kingpin Osiel Cardenas Guillen.

The 1999 incident still burns American lawmen, although the agents were ultimately freed after a tense standoff. The hearing, held before U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle, shed new light on the wealth and ferocity of one of Mexico's largest cartels.

“Get out of the car so I can kill you!â€