EXCLUSIVE: Gulf Cartel Boss' Son Tried to Smuggle Guns on Supervised Release in Texas

The son of the ultimate leader of the Gulf Cartel tried to run a cell of smugglers while on U.S. court-ordered supervised release. During that time, he bragged on social media about efforts to expand power while terrorizing Texas residents at nightclubs.

From a luxurious home in Brownsville, Osiel “Junior or Ozo” Cardenas Salinas, 30, tried to follow his father’s footsteps and take control of the Gulf Cartel even after his two stints in federal prison for weapons charges. His father, Osiel Cardenas Guillen, was the supreme leader of the Gulf Cartel and the founder of Los Zetas at a time when his organization was one of the most powerful in Mexico. He is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S.

On Monday, Junior, a U.S. citizen, went before Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya who formally notified him of new charges and ordered that he remain in prison without bond. The new charges stem from a superseding indictment accusing Junior and two others of smuggling AR-15 and AK-47 rifles into Mexico.

Cardenas had been in lockup since December when U.S. Marshals and Brownsville Police arrested him for violating his supervised release after a bar stabbing incident. Breitbart Texas obtained exclusive access to a separate set of charges filed by Brownsville Police which revealed on December 8, 2021, Cardenas and another man went to Ibissa Bar and were kicked out after a fight with two other men in the restroom. According to Brownsville Police, Cardenas waited for the pair to leave the bar and allegedly stabbed them. Junior is also charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The prior supervised release status was due to a March 2018 case where Junior pulled a gun at another Brownsville bar while being a convicted felon. When police came to the scene, he presented fake federal law enforcement credentials. For that incident, Cardenas received a sentence of two years and three months in prison.

After his release on March 25, 2020, Cardenas was supposed to follow the conditions of his release while living in a luxury home within a gated neighborhood called Fox Hollow. From there, Cardenas returned to working his criminal connections with goals of reining over the Gulf Cartel. The dream proved difficult since he could not cross into Mexico due to his supervised release, plus his cousin and leader of the Matamoros faction Alfredo “El Contador” Cardenas issued threats against him.

Despite being on supervised release, Cardenas bragged about his lifestyle on social media under the name @ozocardenas. He posted videos of fast cars and messages received from famous Mexican musicians.

Screenshot of a video where recording artist Larry Hernandez sends a greeting to Osiel “El Ozo” Cardenas.

Breitbart Texas consulted with the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office, which revealed Osiel Cardenas does not have pending cases.

Cardenas’ first federal felony arrest came in January 2015 when he tried to smuggle hundreds of rounds and weapons parts into Mexico. Cardenas received a 10-month prison sentence. He also has a record of local arrests in Brownsville including DWIs and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected]. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].