Osiel Cardenas Jr., the son of drug kingpin Osiel Cardenas Guillen, has waived his rights to a detention and arraignment hearing and has entered a not guilty plea to gun smuggling charges.
Federal court documents reflect that Cardenas Jr. signed the waivers on Wednesday. He had been scheduled to appear Feb. 10 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya III on the charges.
A search of federal documents indicate no other court dates have been scheduled in Cardenas Jr.’s case. He remains in custody at a federal detention facility.
According to a Jan. 18 federal indictment, Cardenas Jr. on April 22, 2021, knowingly tried to export from the United States to Mexico five Bushmaster rifles XM15-E2S, caliber 223-5.56 and five Zastava rifles, model M90, caliber 7.6sx39, contrary to the law and regulations of the U.S.
In addition, he is accused of attempting to conceal the transportation of the weapons, knowing they were intended for exportation contrary to the law and regulation of the U.S.
This was at least the second time Cardenas Jr. has been arrested and charged in federal court.
In August 2018, he was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison following his conviction of illegal possession of a firearm and impersonating a U.S. Marshal. He pleaded guilty to the charges in May 2018. He was released from federal prison March 25, 2020, according to U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons.
