Mexico Hands Over 26 Cartel Leaders to U.S.
(MENAFN) Mexico has extradited 26 inmates to the United States, aiming to halt their ongoing influence over drug cartels from behind bars, officials announced Wednesday during a press conference.
The U.S. government revealed on Tuesday that Mexico transferred prominent members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel—Mexico’s two most powerful criminal organizations.
At the briefing, Mexican Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch confirmed Mexico acted on a request from U.S. President Donald Trump to hand over these cartel leaders, who continued orchestrating extortion, murders, and kidnappings despite incarceration.
“These high-profile criminals who, even while deprived of their freedom, continued to direct illicit activities through visits -- visits that cannot be prohibited out of respect for their human rights. However, these interactions were being used to maintain criminal operations, threaten officials and expand networks of corruption and intimidation, which posed an unacceptable risk to security,” said Harfuch.
Harfuch added that many of these high-ranking inmates had obtained favorable rulings from district judges, enabling reduced sentences and transfers to lower-security prisons.
He emphasized that Mexico stands to gain the most from these extraditions.
Prosecutor Alejandro Gertz Manero stated that the 26 individuals are in addition to the 29 cartel members extradited earlier in January following official U.S. requests.
When questioned about the possibility of future extraditions of major criminals, Manero affirmed Mexico’s commitment, saying, “Every time that happens, we’re going to do it.”
It was also noted that, under Mexican law, U.S. prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty, as capital punishment is outlawed in Mexico.
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