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Home › Politics

Mexico Cartel | 03/13/2009 10:20 am

Gabriel Cardona, Rosalio Reta Were Hit Men for Mexican Cartel

By The Staff at wowOwow.com
Gabriel Cardona

CNN obtained mugshot via Laredo Police Department

At a glance, Gabriel Cardona may cause you to gasp. He does, after all, have tattoos on his eyelids. His actions, too, are gasp-worthy.

The 21-year-old is one of two American teenagers who worked as hit men for a Mexican drug cartel. Instead of attending high-school classes, Cardona and his friend Rosalio Reta, 19, were contact killers from Laredo, TX, on the payroll of one of Mexico’s deadliest gangs. Their actions caught up with them this week when Cardona was sentenced to life in prison, while Reta received 40 years in the slammer.

Anderson Cooper reports that the teenagers made up to $50,000 on one of their "targets."

Investigators say they were paid $500 a week, just to sit around and wait for orders from Mexico to kill. Depending on the target they could bring in anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000. They would drive around in a $70,000 Mercedes Benz, flash cash, guns and live with little fear of any consequences for their actions.

Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano continues her fight to end Mexico’s drug cartel wars from spilling into the United States.

This case of Cardona and Reta reminds us of the need for more agents on the U.S. border.

CNN reports that Cardona bragged about his kills and his creative ways of disposing of bodies. He says he made "guiso," or stew, with the victims.

Read more about: CNN, Culture, Gabriel Cardona, Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, Mexico, News, Politics, Rosalio Reta, Society, U.S, World News

16 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

caj p
How sad that these young men became involved in this mess, money is the root of all evil unfortunately and lives mean nothing to some.  Until there is no longer a market for these drugs either side of the border this is going to continue on and on, it’s hard to know what if anything can be done to stop it.
By caj p on 03/13/2009 10:43 am
f p
If she wants this violence not to spill over into the US, Homeland Security needs to shut down the gun shops in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona that supply arms to these criminals. Strict laws against selling guns to these cartels need to be passed and reinforcement needs to be harsh including long jail terms for those dealers who sell the weapons.
By f p on 03/13/2009 10:56 am
deber B

These gangs are throughout the United States.   All one has to do is go to New York City, California, Arizona, and the cities surrounding Washington, DC to read and hear about gang killings every single day.  Our prisons are filled with Mexican gang members.  Our tax dollars at work.    

By deber B on 03/13/2009 11:15 am
newzie snoozie

OH BROTHER,   YOU KNOW THIS REMINDS ME OF A PERSON I ACTUALLY KNOW.  ONLY HE HAS NEVER GOEN OT PRISON FOR ANYTHIGN HE HASDOEN HE HAS COMPLETED SO MANY THINGS BY JUMPING INTO A CAR  ( HE HAS ALREADY LOST HIS LICENSE SO MANY TIMES IT ISN’T FUNNY.)  INTO THE CAR HE GOES- DRIVES TO FLORIDA FROM INDIANA IS 1,000 MILES AND HE IS BACK TO WORK THAT NEXT AFTERNOON.   DRUGS IS THE THING HE IS CONNECTED WITH.HE TRANSPORTS-MAKES IT- BEATS UP FOR THE MONEY  THEY OWE HIM  AND THEY DO NOT PAY HIM THEN - HE IS A USER ALSO.     HE HAS NO TROUBLE PUTTING US  IN OUR PLACES WHEN WE QUESTION HIM ABOUT HIS DOINGS AND HIS 3 KIDS. HIS KIDS ARE 3 & 10 & 11  YEARS OLD . HE HAS BEEN IN JAIL MORE THEN  FOUR FIFTHS OF THE KIDS LIVES.  HIS 11 YR. OLD ,IS  A LOT  OF LOW SELF ESTEEM AND SHE DOESN’T FEEL SHE CAN DO ANYTHIGN UNLESS SHE IS WITH US.   THE 10 YR. OLD STARTED OUT IN T-BALL  IT COSTS , WE ALL GO OUT AND IT WAS A THIN G THAT HE WAS SO GOOD AT. WHEN HE GOT UP TO THE PLACE WHERE HE WAS FACING ANOTHER BOY THROWING THE BASEBALL AND HE COULDN’T HIT THEM ALL —-THEN HIS DAD GOT OUT OF A 21/2 YRS. IN JAIL  AND WATCHED ONE GAME AND HIS DAD TELLS HIM YOU ARE A LOUSY  BASEBALL PLAYER. DAD COST THE SON EVERY OUNCE OF CONFIDENCE THTA HE HAD EVER HAD.  HE HAS NIOT GONE BACK  TO PLAY AGAIN.  THE COACHES WANTED HIM BACK ON THEIR TEAMS BECAUSE  THE BOY WAS SO VERY GOOD.    WE HAD  THE BIY ALL PEPPED UP WITH CONFIDENCE AND  HE HAD PALYED FOR 4 YRS.  HE WAS SO GOOD  AND THEN THE BUM GETS OUT AND STARTS HIS BULL CRAP AND IN ONE GAME   4 YEARS WENT RIGHT ON DOWN THE DRAIN.    THE DAD WENT BACK TO JAIL FOR 6 MONTHS. THE BOY NEVER GOT TO GO BACK . HE IS STILL DOWN AND THAT HAS BEEN  A FEW MONTHS BACK BUT HE STOPPED  EVEN WITH HIS FRIENDS HERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 

GUYS LIKE THAT  ARE SO WIDE SPREAD AND NONE OF US CAN DO ANYTHING ABOUT  ANYTHING ,  NEIGHBORHOOD WATCHES ARE N’T THAT HELPFULL EITHER HERE IN OUR TOWN.

By newzie snoozie on 03/13/2009 11:42 am
deber B
I just had to google "libtard" to get its meaning and found that it means "liberal retard."   I learn something new every day.
By deber B on 03/13/2009 1:33 pm
Libra Lady
Deber…thanks for sharing…that was a new one for me too….now I know the meaning also…
By Libra Lady on 03/13/2009 5:53 pm
deber B
Libra, Wake Forest is playing Maryland now and I’m jumping off the sofa nearly throwing the laptop in the floor!  It’s going to be an interesting dramatic second half!   Go Deacs!
By deber B on 03/13/2009 7:13 pm
Libra Lady
Notice the remark about censorship there??? wink wink
By Libra Lady on 03/14/2009 10:03 am
Zera Lee
The war on drugs has gone on so long that it has fallen off the radar. Those who do not see it directly have had every chance to become desensitized to it. Now we share our southern border with a country that is in danger of failing because of the drug cartels, because of the drugs they sell in America and the guns we sell them. This case was but a small portion of our responsibilities to ourselves and to Mexico. With that in mind, how in the heck can the gun manufacturers ship hundreds of assault weapons to stores in border states and still claim ignorance of gunrunning? What kind of lobotomy would it take, what isolation from the real world could produce such ignorance?? This is yet another example of how business bears no responsibility to operate for the good of society (though many do so voluntarily). The NRA should take the industry aside and tell them: police yourselves effectively, or or the government will have no choice but to do it for you.
By Zera Lee on 03/13/2009 5:56 pm