Justice Department officials announced on Tuesday that they took 26 fugitives from Mexico into custody.
The more than two dozen foreigners are suspected of “drug-trafficking, hostage-taking, kidnapping, illegal use of firearms, human smuggling, money laundering, the murder of a sheriffs’ deputy, and other crimes,” according to a release from the Justice Department.
The group also includes leaders of dangerous drug cartels designated by the U.S. government as foreign terrorist organizations, such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel del Noreste.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order earlier this year extending the foreign terrorist designation to those cartels and other crime syndicates in Latin America.
Several DEA high-level targets among the 26 fugitives returned to the U.S. from Mexico, including leaders of cartels designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. #DEACartelExperts #OpTakeBackAmerica
Read more: https://t.co/l7zXE4DGtP pic.twitter.com/90HWVmS3Hz
— DEA HQ (@DEAHQ) August 13, 2025
These suspected criminals allegedly brought drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin into the country by “tonnage quantities.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi lauded the arrests.
“Today is the latest example of the Trump administration’s historic efforts to dismantle cartels and foreign terrorist organizations,” she remarked.
“These 26 men have all played a role in bringing violence and drugs to American shores — under this Department of Justice, they will face severe consequences for their crimes against this country,” she continued. “We are grateful to Mexico’s National Security team for their collaboration in this matter.”
Among the criminals arrested were Abigael Gonzalez Valencia, who is allegedly “one of the leaders of Los Cuinis, a major Mexican drug cartel responsible for trafficking multiple tons of cocaine from South America, through Mexico, into the United States.”
Sinaloa Cartel member Luis Raul Castro Valenzuela was also brought into custody for his suspected “kidnapping and holding hostage” of an American citizen.
#ICYMI: Yesterday, the United States announced that it has taken into custody 26 fugitives from Mexico facing a range of federal and state criminal charges from around the country, including charges relating to drug-trafficking, hostage-taking, kidnapping, illegal use of… pic.twitter.com/lPQhhh5x3P
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) August 13, 2025
Beyond the criminals from Latin America, there was also Abdul Karim Conteh, a citizen of Sierra Leone who “allegedly led a human smuggling organization that smuggled thousands of migrants to the United States through Mexico.”
He was allegedly responsible for smuggling people from across the globe into the United States, including from countries like Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, and other Islamic nations with active terrorist groups.
All of the fugitives are eligible for life in prison, with the exception of Conteh, who could receive up to 45 years in prison.
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