Blow to organized crime: Mexico extradites 26 top cartel leaders to the US after deal with Trump administration
The agreement comes as Washington and Mexico City continue to negotiate tariffs imposed by the Republican president.
Donald Trump (l) and Claudia Sheinbaum (r)
Organized crime again suffered a major blow on Tuesday, after the United States and Mexico confirmed an agreement to extradite 26 high-level cartel leaders under a deal between the Trump administration and the government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
"Today is the latest example of the Trump administration's historic efforts to dismantle cartels and foreign terrorist organizations," Attorney General Pamela Bond said. "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. We are grateful to Mexico's National Security team for their collaboration in this matter."
The agreement comes as Washington and Mexico City continue to negotiate over the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on certain Mexican products that are outside the US-Canada-Mexico trade agreement and are currently taxed at 25%.
A suspension of a new 30% tariff on Mexican products for ninety days is currently in effect.
According to the Department of Justice, the 26 violent criminals extradited include several high-level leaders and operators of transnational cartels and criminal organizations. The vast majority of them are already being prosecuted in U.S. federal courts and could face severe sentences, including life imprisonment.
Extradited cartel leaders also include key operators involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, arms trafficking and human trafficking.
Among those extradited are Abigael González Valencia ("Cuini"), leader of Los Cuinis, Kevin Gil Acosta and Martín Zazueta Pérez, security chiefs of "Los Chapitos," and Abdul Karim Conteh, accused of smuggling thousands of immigrants into the United States illegally.
This agreement, moreover, comes after President Trump quietly signed an order empowering the Army to use force to combat Latin American cartels, recently designated as terrorist organizations by the United States.
Such an order provoked Mexico's President Sheinbaum to react critically against Washington.
"The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military," she said.
However, Trump and several senior members of his administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, justified the measure, claiming that these cartels operate with weaponry and financing systems that equate to the world's most fearsome terrorist organizations.
For example, Mexico's Jalisco Cartel - New Generation (CJNG), Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles and MS-13 in El Salvador are among the organizations designated as terrorist organizations.
Despite several public clashes between Sheinbaum and Trump since the Republican leader returned to the White House, Mexico has already sent a total of more than 50 cartel leaders to the United States for extradition.
In February alone, Mexico extradited 29 cartel leaders, including Rafael Caro Quintero, accused of using torture methods and murdering a DEA agent in 1985.
Full list of the 26 extradited, according to the DOJ
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