MEXICO CITY (dpa-AFX) - Mexico extradited to the United States 29 fugitive cartel members, including notorious drug cartel kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero and 28 other to the United States
The defendants who were taken into U.S. custody include leaders and managers of drug cartels recently designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Cártel del Noreste, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Cártel de Golfo, known as Gulf Cartel. They are alleged to have been responsible for smuggling into the United States massive quantities of drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin, as well as violence linked to the drug trade.
Caro Quintero, the founder of the Guadalajara cartel who unleashed violence, destruction, and death across the United States and Mexico, remaIned atop The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's most wanted fugitives list for four decades.
'This moment is extremely personal for the men and women of DEA who believe Caro Quintero is responsible for the brutal torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena,' said DEA Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz, referring to the killing of Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Enrique Camarena Salazar in 1985.
Other notorious drug lords who will face prosecution in U.S. soil include Martin Sotelo, who is alleged to have participated in the 2022 murder of Deputy Sheriff Ned Byrd; Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, who allegedly helped lead CJNG and is reportedly the brother of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as 'El Mencho'; and Ramiro Perez Moreno and Lucio Hernandez Lechuga, who are alleged to be high-ranking members of Los Zetas.
Many of the defendants were subject to longstanding U.S. extradition requests.
The Mexican government agreed to transfer them to the U.S. government after President Donald Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico if it doesn't take tough actions to curb drug trafficking into the U.S. Trump suspended the duties before they went into effect until March 4, to allow for talks on border security.
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