BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The son of a former cartel leader was sentenced to federal prison Thursday in Brownsville.
Osiel Cardenas-Salinas Jr. was sentenced to 8.3 years in prison for attempting to smuggle firearms into Mexico, federal records show.
Cardenas-Salinas is the son of the former head of the Gulf Cartel, Osiel Cardenas Guillen, who was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison and ordered to pay a money judgment of $50 million.
Cardenas-Salinas pleaded guilty to the charges in August 2022. Cardenas-Salinas admitted that he attempted to purchase 10 assault rifles to export into Mexico, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.
Federal documents stated that Jose Roberto Molina-Medrano had an interest in purchasing firearms on behalf of Cardenas-Salinas. On April 19, 2021, an undercover agent spoke with Molina-Medrano to confirm the delivery date and payment.
According to the release, on April 22, 2021, Cardenas-Salinas and others attempted to purchase five “AK-47 type rifles” and five “AR-15 type rifles,” during an undercover operation in a parking lot in Brownsville.
Cardenas-Salinas admitted to committing the crime while on supervised release from a previous felony, authorities added.
Molina-Medrano was also sentenced Thursday. He was ordered to serve 7.5 years in prison and three years of supervised release.
As part of his sentencing, Cardenas-Salinas was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, records show.
