Wednesday, Jun. 22, 2011

Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas

Alias: Tony Tormenta
Affiliation: Gulf cartel
Born: March 5, 1962, in Matamoros
Bounty: $5 million (U.S.), 30 million pesos (Mexico)
What We Know: He was the brother of Osiel "the Friend Killer" Cárdenas, who led the Gulf cartel until his arrest in 2003. He now runs the organization along with Jorge Eduardo Costilla. Ezequiel Cárdenas allegedly forged links with the Italian Mafia to move drugs through the U.S. and on to Europe. On November 5, 2010, the Mexican government announced that Cardenas had died that day in a shootout with security forces in the border city of Matamoros. The death came after hundreds of soldiers moved into Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas, and launched a full-scale assault on Cardenas' cartel.

UPDATE:Cardenas was killed during an encounter with the Mexican Marines in November 2010. The gun battle lasted six hours and saw over 300 grenades go off.