Mexico's government reports that 29 suspected drug dealers, including prominent cartel members, have been extradited to the USA.
Among them are several leaders and security chiefs from five of the six Mexican crime cartels that Donald Trump recently classified as terrorist organizations.
The drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who is accused of being behind the murder of an American drug police officer in 1985, is among those extradited, according to Mexican government sources.
Risk of Death Penalty
He, and several of the extradited, now risk the death penalty if they are convicted in the USA, according to the American Department of Justice.
Among those extradited are also the former leaders of the ultra-violent Zetas cartel, brothers Omar and Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, as well as the former Juarez cartel boss Vicente Carrillo. Also, a brother of Nemesio Oseguera, head of Jalisco nueva generación, one of Mexico's most powerful crime syndicates, has been extradited.
The extradition takes place at the same time as Mexico is trying to reach an agreement with the USA to avoid President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs of 25 percent, which may be introduced next week.
"As President Trump has made clear, cartels are terrorist groups, and the Department of Justice is committed to destroying cartels and transnational gangs," says US Attorney General Pam Bondi in a statement.
Meeting in Washington
The announcement of the extradition came in connection with a Mexican delegation, including the country's foreign minister, defense minister, and security minister, visiting their American counterparts in Washington, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
They agreed to take a "series of coordinated measures" to address drug trafficking as well as illegal arms trafficking between the countries.
Donald Trump said on Thursday that tariffs will be imposed on Mexico from March 4, as drugs continue to enter the USA at "unacceptable levels".
