The White House announced Friday that 29 Mexican cartel members, including “one of the most evil cartel bosses in the world,” were extradited to the United States.
The Associated Press reported that Mexico has extradited 29 members of drug cartels, including Rafael Caro Quintero, the drug lord responsible for the murder of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985, to the U.S.
This unusual display of security collaboration comes while high-ranking Mexican officials are in Washington. They are seeking to prevent the Trump administration from implementing a 25 percent tariff on all Mexican imports starting Tuesday.
“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,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
“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 individuals extradited on Thursday were transported from various prisons in Mexico to an airport north of Mexico City, where they boarded planes heading to eight different cities in the U.S., per the Mexican government.
Those extradited also include individuals from five of the six Mexican organized crime groups classified as “foreign terrorist organizations” by the administration earlier this month, according to the AP.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had challenged the State Department order that declared several of Mexico’s drug cartels terrorist organizations. Tech billionaire Elon Musk later said these cartels were “eligible for drone strikes.”
