Global Information1999 Matamoros standoff information
| 1999 Matamoros standoff | |||
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 State of Tamaulipas in Mexico | |||
| Date | 9 November 1999 2:30 p.m. (approximately) | ||
| Location | Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico | ||
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| Methods | Armed standoff | ||
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| Lead figures | |||
Joe DuBois (DEA) Osiel Cárdenas Guillén | |||
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On 9 November 1999, two agents from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were threatened at gunpoint and nearly killed in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, by gunmen of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal group based in the area. The two agents traveled to Matamoros with an informant to gather intelligence on the operations of the Gulf Cartel. As they cruised through one of the properties owned by the criminal group, they noticed several vehicles following them. The agents were forced to a stop and were corralled by a convoy of eight vehicles, from which fifteen gunmen emerged and surrounded the agents' car. Some of them wore uniforms of the local police. Among the gunmen was the former kingpin Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, who recognized the informant and ordered the three of them to get out of their vehicle.
Fearing torture and interrogation, the agents agreed they would not allow the Gulf Cartel to take them alive. They decided their best chance of survival was to talk their way out of the incident. The agents repeatedly refused to comply with Cárdenas Guillén's orders and tried to reason with him that killing U.S. federal agents would result in a massive manhunt by the U.S. government. The incident escalated; profanities were exchanged and the gunmen prepared to shoot but Cárdenas Guillén ordered them to hold fire. One of the agents had a concealed handgun next to his thigh and was planning to kill Cárdenas Guillén if the gunmen opened fire. After twenty minutes, Cárdenas Guillén allowed the agents and the informant to return to Brownsville, Texas, U.S., and threatened to kill them if they ever returned.
The standoff triggered a massive law enforcement effort to crack down on the leadership structure of the Gulf Cartel. Cárdenas Guillén, who was previously regarded as a minor player in the international drug trade, became one of the most-wanted criminals in the world. The FBI and the DEA mounted numerous charges against him and issued a US$2 million bounty for his arrest. He was arrested in 2003 and extradited to the U.S. in 2007, where he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for drug trafficking, money laundering, and assaulting U.S. federal agents. He was also ordered to forfeit US$50 million, a small portion of what U.S. authorities believe he made in the Gulf Cartel. Several Gulf Cartel members involved in the standoff were also eventually arrested and convicted.