By Juan Montoya
The first thing that some local residents thought when Oseil Cardenas Jr., son of Osiel Cardenas, the Gulf Cartel capo serving prison time for drug offenses, thought when the younger Cardenas was arrested with a badge from the Cameron County District Attorney Office was that it belonged to a Ass. DA found dead in Matamoros eight years ago.
![]()
The body of Assistant DA Arturo Jose Iniguez of Rancho Viejo, 26, was found March 20, 2011, in his Jeep, with the engine running, not far from the Veterans International Bridge in Matamoros. He was holding a cellphone in his right hand.
A bottle bearing the name of a drug that is used in the veterinary industry was found outside the vehicle. The lid was inside, according to reports.
Villalobos said he didn't know why Iñiguez was in Matamoros and that his family had no knowledge that he had planned to go there.
The death was ruled a suicide although a lot of things made no sense: He had been promoted recently in the DA's Office by then-DA Armando Villalobos to first chair misdemeanor attorney. He first had joined the district attorney’s office in 2007 as a law clerk, while attending law school. He had a two-year-old daughter, and he missed a diner date with his wife and mother that Saturday.
"That's the first thing I thought about," said a local bail bondsman.
"You should check to see if it was the Asst. DA found dead in Matamoros," said a local elected official.
DA Luis Saenz told the newspaper that the badge Cardenas had had been issued to local attorney Ismael Hinojosa.
Saenz said that Hinjosa was representing Cardenas in a petition to acquire a driver's license. He was scheduled to complete serving probation on was sentenced in 2015 to 10 months in federal prison for attempting to smuggle military-grade ammunition into Mexico in January of that year.
He was also to serve three years supervised release after serving the 10 months in federal prison.
According to courthouse sources, it has become a practice for some Asst. DA's to keep their badges when they leave office. In fact, that office has issued numerous "honorary" badges to local residents for their service to victims' rights or child protective activities. Saenz even issued one to former DA PIO Melissa Zamora after she started working for the City of Harlingen.
"There's a lot of badges out there," said the bondsman. "No telling how Cardenas got a hold of that one."
Hinojosa has refused to answer media inquiries citing lawyer-client privilege.
The first thing that some local residents thought when Oseil Cardenas Jr., son of Osiel Cardenas, the Gulf Cartel capo serving prison time for drug offenses, thought when the younger Cardenas was arrested with a badge from the Cameron County District Attorney Office was that it belonged to a Ass. DA found dead in Matamoros eight years ago.
The body of Assistant DA Arturo Jose Iniguez of Rancho Viejo, 26, was found March 20, 2011, in his Jeep, with the engine running, not far from the Veterans International Bridge in Matamoros. He was holding a cellphone in his right hand.A bottle bearing the name of a drug that is used in the veterinary industry was found outside the vehicle. The lid was inside, according to reports.
Villalobos said he didn't know why Iñiguez was in Matamoros and that his family had no knowledge that he had planned to go there.
The death was ruled a suicide although a lot of things made no sense: He had been promoted recently in the DA's Office by then-DA Armando Villalobos to first chair misdemeanor attorney. He first had joined the district attorney’s office in 2007 as a law clerk, while attending law school. He had a two-year-old daughter, and he missed a diner date with his wife and mother that Saturday.
"That's the first thing I thought about," said a local bail bondsman.
"You should check to see if it was the Asst. DA found dead in Matamoros," said a local elected official.
DA Luis Saenz told the newspaper that the badge Cardenas had had been issued to local attorney Ismael Hinojosa.
Saenz said that Hinjosa was representing Cardenas in a petition to acquire a driver's license. He was scheduled to complete serving probation on was sentenced in 2015 to 10 months in federal prison for attempting to smuggle military-grade ammunition into Mexico in January of that year.
He was also to serve three years supervised release after serving the 10 months in federal prison.
According to courthouse sources, it has become a practice for some Asst. DA's to keep their badges when they leave office. In fact, that office has issued numerous "honorary" badges to local residents for their service to victims' rights or child protective activities. Saenz even issued one to former DA PIO Melissa Zamora after she started working for the City of Harlingen.
"There's a lot of badges out there," said the bondsman. "No telling how Cardenas got a hold of that one."
Hinojosa has refused to answer media inquiries citing lawyer-client privilege.