The Justice Department gained custody of 29 suspected Mexican drug traffickers, including kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero, on Thursday, who now face either life in prison or execution if convicted on charges of murder, money laundering, and drug trafficking.
The individuals extradited from Mexico are accused of sending massive amounts of cocaine, meth, fentanyl, and heroin into the United States, as well as murdering American law enforcement officers. One of those sent over is a drug lord who officials say tortured and murdered a Drug Enforcement Administration agent in 1985.
“As President Trump has made clear, cartels are terrorist groups, and this Department of Justice is devoted to destroying cartels and transnational gangs,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. “We will prosecute these criminals to the fullest extent of the law in honor of the brave law enforcement agents who have dedicated their careers — and in some cases, given their lives — to protect innocent people from the scourge of violent cartels. We will not rest until we secure justice for the American people.”
Those extradited face charges of racketeering, drug trafficking, murder, illegal use of firearms, and money laundering and include members of the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Cártel de Golfo (Gulf Cartel), according to the Justice Department.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations. The DOJ said that Mexico “elected” to honor the extradition requests as a result of this designation. Mexico officials are meeting with the Trump administration to negotiate ahead of the 25% tariffs that Trump has scheduled to go into effect next week.
“The FBI and our partners will scour the ends of the earth to bring terrorists and cartel members to justice,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The era of harming Americans and walking free is over.”
One of those extradited was drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who officials say murdered and tortured DEA special agent Enrique Camarena and his pilot Alfredo Zavala Avelar in 1985. This was done in retaliation after American officials crackdown on his drug operation, which reportedly trafficked 10,000 tons of marijuana into the United States. In 2013, a judge in Mexico overturned Quintero’s murder conviction, releasing him from prison.
Another one of the defendants is Martin Sotelo, who was wanted for his alleged participation in the 2022 murder of North Carolina Deputy Sheriff Ned Byrd.
“By prosecuting these defendants to the maximum extent allowable under the law, we honor the memory of Special Agent Camarena, Deputy Sheriff Byrd, and other victims who are far too numerous, as well as decades of hard work in the trenches by our law enforcement partners,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said.