On Thursday, Mexico extradited 29 cartel bosses and other prominent members to the United States to face federal charges. From the New York Times:
The handover included not only several powerful cartel leaders, but also some of the most prolific murderers in the annals of Mexican crime. The number and significance of the people sent to the United States at the same time made the event one of the most important efforts by Mexico in the modern history of the drug war to send traffickers to face charges in American federal courts.
Among those now in U.S. custody is the infamous Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero. According to Mexican authorities, he's the founder of the Guadalajara cartel. In 1985, he had his men kidnap DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, among others, before torturing and kidnapping them. The Netflix program "Narcos" is about the horrific incident.
According to Fox News, "the founders of Los Zetas, Miguel and Omar Morales, also known as Z-40 and Z-42" are also among the group. CNN reports that "Martin Sotelo – also known as Alder Marin-Sotelo – who allegedly participated in the 2022 murder of Deputy Sheriff Ned Byrd in Charlotte, North Carolina" is now in the U.S. as well.
The White House press secretary released the following statement today:
Last night, 29 Mexican Cartel Members were extradited to the United States. President Trump directed the Department of Justice and the Department of State to make this happen, and Attorney General Bondi and Secretary of State Rubio did a tremendous job in getting this done. The group of cartel members, who will soon arrive on American soil, includes one of the most evil cartel bosses in the world, Rafael Caro Quintero, who tortured and murdered DEA Agent Kiki Camerena in 1985. The previous Administration allowed these criminals to run free and commit crimes all over the world. The Trump Administration is declaring these thugs as terrorists, because that is what they are, and demanding justice for the American people.
"This action is part of the tasks of coordination, cooperation and bilateral reciprocity, within the framework of respect for the sovereignty of both nations," Mexico’s Attorney General's Office and Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection said in a statement.
The extradition comes as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth met with Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente and other Mexican officials in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. According to the Department of State, the meeting was meant to help "build a new era of U.S. – Mexico security cooperation where swift and decisive actions are taken to finally secure our borders, dismantle cartel organizations, and stop the illicit flows of drugs and weapons."
The State Department's readout also stated:
Secretary Rubio expressed appreciation for Mexico’s actions to secure our common border, including deploying 10,000 National Guard troops, as well as major seizures of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals, and the expulsion of 29 major cartel figures to stand trial for their crimes, making both our nations safer. Both parties agreed upon the importance of making sure there was continued action beyond meetings and suggested the implementation of a timetable and touchbacks to target clear goals and sustainable results.
The U.S. is wasting no time. Some of the cartel leaders are set to be arraigned in federal court in New York on Friday, including Caro Quintero and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, the former leader of the Juárez Cartel.