The US Requests The Extradition Of ‘La Kena’, Leader Of Los Ciclones.

Mica for cartelinsider.com

Enrique Beltrán Santés, judge of the Federal Criminal Justice Center in Almoloya de Juárez, in the State of Mexico, determined on April 24, 2024, that the detention with the purpose of extradition of José Alberto García Vilano, also known as “La Kena” or “CMTE XlX” or “Ciclón 19”, alleged leader of Los Ciclones, a faction of the Gulf Cartel (CDG), was legal.

García Vilano was arrested on January 18, 2024, during an operation that took place at a shopping center located on Gómez Morín and Vasconcelos avenues in the municipality of San Pedro Garza García, in Nuevo León. Since then, he has been imprisoned at the El Altiplano Federal Rehabilitation Center (CEFERESO) No.1, in the municipality of Almoloya de Juárez, in the State of Mexico.

“At the parties’ request, the session was held behind closed doors to avoid compromising sensitive information from the investigations carried out by the United States against the alleged criminal. The Southern District Court of Texas requested due to the alleged involvement of ‘La Kena’ in three crimes, including some related to health and operations with illicit proceeds,” according to a source cited by Milenio newspaper.

“After the judge deemed the detention for extradition purposes to be legal, a period of 60 days begins for the United States Government to request his eventual extradition and be held accountable before an American court,” explained the same news outlet.

“The audience this morning lasted for 30 minutes and was held behind closed doors at the request of the Republic’s Prosecutors’ Office. During its proceedings, two armed military vehicles were stationed at the entrance of the justice center,” reported the newspaper Reforma, citing “federal sources.”

“His case gained notoriety because six days later, the federal control judge of Matamoros, Crescencio Contreras Martinez, issued a non-binding ruling for organized crime, to promote crimes against health and possession of firearms for the exclusive use of the Army,” the same newspaper recalled.

“The alleged leader of ‘Los Ciclones’ did not remain free, as he was served with an arrest warrant while in prison, and a judge from the state of Tamaulipas linked him to a trial for the crime of kidnapping. However, the ruling of Judge Crescencio Contreras led to him facing a political impeachment process in the Congress of the Union, as reported by Reforma newspaper.”

“‘La Kena’, leader of the Cyclones, arrested in San Pedro Garza García, NL; she kidnapped 4 Americans in Matamoros.”

José Alberto García Vilano, alias “La Kena” or “CMDR XIX”, the alleged leader of Los Ciclones, a split from the Gulf Cartel (CDG), was arrested on January 18, 2024, during an operation carried out at a shopping center located on Gómez Morín and Vasconcelos avenues in the municipality of San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León

The boss, also known as “Cyclone 19”, was apprehended by Fuerza Civil and the State Agency of Investigations members from the General Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Nuevo León (FGJENL).

The Security Spokesperson of Tamaulipas confirmed the arrest of the alleged criminal leader, “considered a high-priority target and one of the main generators of violence in the northeast of the country.”

“The Attorney General’s Office of the State of Tamaulipas issued a search warrant in Tamaulipas, and the capture was achieved thanks to coordinated interinstitutional work,” detailed the security spokesperson for Tamaulipas.

García Vilano was with three other people when he was arrested while shopping at the department store El Palacio de Hierro. The leader of Los Ciclones had already been sought after by the Tamaulipas Prosecutor’s Office, which was offering a reward of 2.5 million pesos to anyone who provided information that led to his location and arrest.

“La Kena” was also one of the targets of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) due to The Cyclones dividing their illicit operations between Matamoros and Brownsville, Texas. Additionally, they were involved in the illegal kidnapping of four American citizens.

Five alleged members of the Scorpion group, from the Gulf Cartel, were found bound, on the morning of March 9, 2023, between Primera and Lauro Villar streets, in downtown Matamoros, Tamaulipas, with a sign in which said criminal group apologized for having kidnapped, on the 3rd of the same month and year, four Americans and killed two of them.

“They were activated under their determination and indiscipline and against the rules in which the CDG has always operated, respecting the lives and integrity of the innocent,” read the note found next to the five tied-up men, who had their shirts over their heads when they were found.

“The CDG apologizes to the society of Matamoros, the family of Mrs. Arely, and the American individuals and families affected,” the message written on a white card placed on the vehicle beside the bound individuals said. They were subsequently taken to the General Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Tamaulipas facilities, in the border above the city with the USA.”

On March 6, 2023, ABC News identified the victims as Latavia “Tay” McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown, and Eric James Williams, who traveled to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in a white van with North Carolina license plates, which entered through Brownsville, Texas.

According to the testimony of Latavia’s mother, quoted by the same American media, she went with her cousin Shaeed to undergo a cosmetic procedure in a border city in the United States. The other two kidnapped persons were friends of ‘Tay’.

The criminal group of The Cyclones, a faction of the Gulf Cartel with a presence in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, was created in 2015 by José Álfredo Cárdenas Mártineza, alias “El Contador”; Evaristo Cruz Sánchez, “El Vaquero”; and Víctor Hugo Téllez Candón, “El Chaparro”. The main rivals of this criminal group are the Northeast Cartel and Los Metros.

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Mica

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