The United States Justice Department (DOJ) has taken custody of 29 alleged drug traffickers from Mexico, including notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero. All face serious charges such as murder, drug trafficking, money laundering, and firearms offenses, which could result in life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Among those extradited are reputed members of major Mexican cartels, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Cártel de Golfo.
The cartels have funneled enormous quantities of drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin, into the United States and perpetrated violence against American law enforcement. Cartel-smuggled fentanyl has led to the deaths of many Americans in recent years, with Border Patrol seizing enough fentanyl to kill 250 million Americans last August.
Kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero allegedly tortured and killed a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent in 1985. His release from Mexican prison in 2013 followed a legal decision overturning his murder conviction.
Attorney General Pam Bondi expressed determination to dismantle powerful drug cartels, labeled terrorist groups under a directive signed by President Donald J. Trump. This order facilitated the U.S.’s requests for extradition, which Mexico honored amid ongoing trade discussions with the Trump administration concerning impending tariffs.
