Jorge Costilla Sánchez of the Cártel del Golfo gets life in prison (PHOTOS)

• Jorge Costilla Sánchez was sentenced to life in prison.
• El Coss was the leader of the Cártel del Golfo.
• He was also convicted of threatening DEA and FBI agents.

Jorge Costilla Sánchez, of the Cártel del Golfo, received a life sentence for drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States. The Justice Department announced the harsh sentence given to one of the historical leaders of Mexican drug trafficking, famous for his brutal violence, on Thursday, September 15, 2022.

Federal judge Fernando Rodríguez Jr. of Brownsville, Texas, announced the sentence against Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, known within the Cártel del Golfo as El Coss. The judge established in his resolution that he was the leader of the criminal organization in the state of Tamaulipas for ten years.

Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez is sentenced to life in prison

In making his decision, Judge Fernando Rodríguez Jr. commented that for ten years Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez violently commanded the Cártel del Golfo and used “weapons and intimidation to maintain control of his illegal drug trafficking organization and resorting to violence and murder while maintaining their power.”

The investigation into Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez was carried out by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Control Administration (DEA) and U.S. Marshals among other corporations.

El Coss was the leader of the Cártel del Golfo in Mexico

As of the writing of this article, drug trafficker Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez continues to be detained in a federal prison in southeast Texas awaiting transfer to the maximum security prison, where he will have to live the rest of his life to pay his sentence.

Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, also detained in the United States, was the leader of the Cártel del Golfo from 1998 until March 2003, when he was captured in an operation by the Mexican Army. After the capture of Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, his successor Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez took control of the organization.

Death threats for US federal agents

The United States authorities had Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez in their sights since November 1999 after a violent incident. The capture and extradition of El Coss was almost a personal matter for the DEA and FBI agents in their first encounter with the Mexican drug trafficker.

In the legal documents of the case, consulted by MundoNow in Texas, it is detailed that on that occasion some undercover agents of the DEA and the FBI in Mexico were intercepted by an armed commando of the Cártel del Golfo, commanded by Osiel Cárdenas Guillén and Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez.

A commando blocked DEA and FBI officials

Osiel Cárdenas Guillén and Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez threatened US DEA and FBI agents with AK-47 rifles and threatened to kill them. Agents Daniel Fuentes and Joseph Dubois along with a confidential informant walked the streets of Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

Fuentes and Dubois were assigned to the DEA and FBI offices in Houston, Texas, and were investigating the Cártel del Golfo. The two officers feared for their lives when they found themselves surrounded by armed drug traffickers under the orders of Osiel Cárdenas Guillén and Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez.

AK-47s pointed at the cops and their informant

A Jeep Cherokee, among other cars, blocked the way for the agents. Osiel Cárdenas Guillén and Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez got out of the white Jeep Cherokee, while their gunmen pointed at agents Daniel Fuentes and Joseph Dubois as well as their informant.

The then leader of the Cártel del Golfo ordered federal agents from the DEA and the FBI to hand over the informant. The tension grew. Costilla Sánchez was armed and aimed at the police. The agents refused to hand over their informant in Tamaulipas.

“You gringos, this is my city!”

Joseph Dubois and Daniel Fuentes were sure that they were going to be killed by Osiel Cárdenas Guillén and Costilla Sánchez and their hitmen. Dubois told the drug traffickers that if they were killed they would be harshly persecuted, like Guadalajara Cartel after killing agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena.

The drug dealers were ready to fire. Joseph Dubois said that suddenly Osiel Cárdenas Guillén spoke. “You gringos, this is my city. So get the hell out of here before I kill all of you!” the leader of the Cártel del Golfo ordered the rifles to be lowered.

The United States requests the extradition of El Coss

Daniel Fuentes and Joseph Dubois crossed the border from Mexico into the United States and took their informant, who is now a protected witness for the Department of Justice, with them. However, the DEA and the FBI did not forget the threats from Osiel Cárdenas Guillén and Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez.

Costilla Sánchez was arrested by the Mexican Army and almost immediately, the United States Department of Justice requested his extradition. In 2015, El Coss was finally extradited to Brownsville, Texas, to face his drug charges and death threats to federal agents.

“Jorge Costilla Sánchez brought poison to our communities”

Daniel C. Comeaux, head of the DEA in Houston, Texas, issued a statement after Costilla Sánchez’s conviction was known. “High-ranking drug leaders like Costilla Sánchez are not immune from facing severe punishment,” Agent Comeaux said.

“Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez brought poison to our communities and our collaborative efforts with our local and federal partners landed him in prison. We will continue to aggressively pursue any drug trafficking organization that wants to profit from our communities.»