MCALLEN, Texas — The former head of the Mexican Gulf Cartel pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges in Texas. He was originally caught on the Texas border by U.S. authorities.
Juan “Comandante Panochitas” Tamez Saenz pleaded guilty in a federal court in Beaumont to drug conspiracy charges before U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone. Saenz will be sentenced at a later date.
In a story first reported by Breitbart Texas, federal agents caught Tamez Saenz following a large scale raid at a house in Edinburg, Texas where he had been staying. Despite being only 23-years-old, Tamez had inherited the command of the Gulf Cartel following the arrests of leaders Mario “Pelon” or X-20″ Ramirez and Juan Manuel “Perros” Rodriguez. Both Ramirez and Rodriguez were previously arrested in Mexico. Tamez’s charge was originally filed in the Eastern District of Texas where he, along with multiple other men, are accused of getting tons of marijuana and cocaine from Mexico into the Beaumont area for local and regional distributions.
As Breitbart Texas previously reported, Tamez is one of the three Gulf Cartel bosses who were caught along the Texas border in a matter of weeks.
In late November, the Starr County District Attorney’s Office, along with federal agents, were able to get Gulf Cartel commander Orlando “Comandante Boris” Rodriguez to turn himself in to authorities. In an unrelated early December case, the Law Enforcement Emergency Regional Response Team arrested Francisco “Comandante Paquito” Martinez in the rural border town of Palmview, Texas. Martinez had been a close ally of Tamez who had managed to evade authorities during the initial raid in Edinburg.