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A Mexican judge with a history of questionable rulings ordered the release of one of the leaders of the Gulf Cartel. The alleged crime boss is fighting a slew of charges and extradition to the U.S. However, thanks to the ruling, he was granted his release on bond. This particular cartel boss has a history of suspicious releases where authorities have dismissed his prior cases on technicalities. He has a pending criminal indictment in the U.S. filed by the Department of Justice.

This week, Mexican federal judge Gregorio Salazar ruled in favor of Jose Alfredo “El Contador” Cardenas, the reputed leader of the Escorpiones faction of the Gulf Cartel. Salazar ruled that federal prosecutors had not proven the cause for the requested extradition and that he was not a flight risk, so he did not need to be held in custody.

Jose Alfredo “El Contador” Cardenas Martinez (file photo)

The group led by Cardenas is linked to hundreds of murders, kidnappings, and forced disappearances in Mexico. As Breitbart Texas has reported, the Escorpiones have also been waging fierce turf wars and most recently began using explosive devices and land mines.

As Breitbart Texas previously reported, Mexican authorities have arrested El Contador three times, the most recent one in 2022 in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on state charges. In the other two prior arrests, one in 2019 and one in 2018, Mexican federal judges suspiciously dismissed his charges.

The judge who ordered the release of El Contador has a long history of questionable rulings and claims of having been bought off by criminal figures. In 2023, Salazar had a similarly suspicious ruling when he ordered the release of Mario “El Gordo” Cardenas Guillen, a former top leader of the Gulf Cartel and the brother of the organization’s supreme leader and founder of Los Zetas Osiel Cardenas Guillen.

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 Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

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 bdarby@breitbart.com.