Mexico's public prosecutor has prevented the notorious drug lord, Héctor Palma, from being released from custody, despite a judge ordered that he should be freed.
Palma, who is 63 years old, co-established the powerful Sinaloa cartel alongside Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, and has been incarcerated for 28 years in both the U.S. and Mexico.
In 2005, he admitted to being involved in the transportation of drugs.
The judge ruled on Tuesday that there was insufficient evidence to detain him on charges related to organised crime.
The Netflix show Narcos: Mexico depicted Palma's involvement in criminal activities.
Judge María Dolores Olarte declared that the evidence provided by the prosecutors connecting Palma, who is commonly known as "El Güero," with organised crime were mainly baseless.
According to judicial sources, after the magistrate's decision, the prosecutor issued a new warrant for Palma's arrest on the grounds of murder and stipulated his detention in prison.
Two years ago, Palma was set free after being found not guilty of charges related to criminal organisation.
Shortly after being acquitted, he was promptly rearrested as the judge invalidated the previous decision, reasoning that it was important to locate and present two witnesses who had implicated him in two homicide cases and alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
However, the prosecution has been unable to locate the two witnesses who had incriminated him, prompting Judge Olarte's decision to free Palma.
His criminal career was started as a hitman for Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, one of the founders of the now-extinct Guadalajara drug cartel, BBC reported.
His criminal empire split into two, when Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo was arrested in 1989. One was controlled by his nephews, the Arellano Félix brothers, with its power base in the city of Tijuana, and another controlled by Palma and Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, based in Sinaloa state.
The two splinter groups soon started competing with each other and Palma was accused of having "betrayed" Felix Gallardo by keeping the proceeds from a drug shipment for himself.
During this time Palma became involved in one of the most gruesome and infamous vendettas to engulf Mexico's criminal underworld.
A Venezuelan man, Rafael Clavel Moreno, seduced Palma's wife, Guadalupe Leija, convincing her to leave her husband and move to the U.S. along with the two children she had had with Palma.
Moreno killed Palma's wife and reportedly sent her decapitated head to Palma, once they had arrived in San Francisco,
Moreno then took the two children, aged four and five, with him to Venezuela, where he killed them by throwing them off a bridge.
Palma then took revenge. He Killed Moreno's family, as well as a number of relatives and close associates of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo.
Moreno, who had been arrested for the murder of the two children, was killed in jail.
Palma constructed an extravagant pantheon in a Culiacán cemetery, which serves as a final resting place for family members of the Sinaloa drug cartel while also providing a luxurious memorial for his own wife and children.
In 1995, he was apprehended promptly following the crash of the private jet he was traveling. The luxurious golden firearm caught the notice of law enforcement when they interviewed Palma, who was recovering at his residence.
After completing his sentence for drug trafficking, Palma was released and extradited to the United States in 2007. Then, in 2016, he was sent back to Mexican officials.
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