Juan Francisco Sáenz-Tamez, the 23-year-old head of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel, has made his first court appearance, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Tuesday. Sáenz-Tamez was arrested by federal officials in Edinburg, Texas on October 9 and faces life in federal prison if convicted of drug charges.
Sáenz-Tamez was arrested on charges of money laundering and conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana earlier this month. The infamous Gulf cartel is best known for its bloody clashes with the Zetas cartel in northeastern Mexico. Despite his age, Sáenz-Tamez allegedly “oversaw much of the violence and bloodshed that has plagued Mexico,” says Michele M. Leonhart, administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
Sáenz-Tamez’ arrest comes on the heels of the high-profile captures of other drug kingpins on both sides of the border, such as the October apprehensions of Hector “El Ingeniero” Beltran Leyva of the Arturo Beltran Leyva (ABL) cartel and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes of the Juárez drug cartel, as well as the February 22 capture of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, head of the Sinaloa cartel.
Sáenz-Tamez has plead not guilty to all charges.
