Gulf Cartel Leader Released From Pecos Prison Now In ICE Custody

EL PASO, Texas (AP) – A former high-ranking member of one of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels freedom was short-lived.

Jose Manuel Garza Rendon was immediately taken into custody by immigration officials Tuesday after he was released from a federal prison in West Texas.

Garza was once a top lieutenant in the Gulf Cartel, according to federal prosecutors.

Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsly said prison records showed Garza was released Tuesday from the Reeves County Detention Center in Pecos, a county-owned but privately run prison about 200 miles east of El Paso that houses criminal immigrants.

Leticia Zamarrita, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in El Paso, said Garza is now being detained by ICE and has been “placed in removal hearings.”

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL, Associated Press Writer

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)