Mexico extradites 29 drug traffickers to US

MEXICO CITY

Mexico extradited 29 alleged drug traffickers to the US on Thursday amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration to crack down on fentanyl smuggling or face tariffs.

The 29 inmates were being held in various prisons across the country and include Rafael Caro Quintero, the former leader of the Guadalajara cartel, who is wanted by the US for the murder of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 1985.

The move follows the designation of Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) by US President Donald Trump in January.

Trump has continuously threatened Mexico with tariffs to push it into stepping up efforts to tackle drug cartels, while the Mexican government led by President Claudia Sheinbaum is doing what is possible to stave them off.

The Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection (SSCP), a Cabinet-level agency of the government responsible for supervising public safety and security, released a statement on the extradition of the high-profile criminals, pledging their handover as a means of cooperation with the US.

"This action is part of the bilateral coordination, cooperation and reciprocity efforts within the framework of respect for the sovereignty of both nations," it said.

Caro Quintero, nicknamed "El Narco de Narcos" or “The Narco of Narcos,” for his power and role as the co-founder of the Guadalajara Cartel, the most powerful drug cartel in Latin America during the 80s, has evaded US imprisonment for decades.

Charged with the torture and murder of Camarena, he spent 28 years in a Mexican prison since his arrest in 1985.

He walked free in 2013, however, when a court overturned his 40-year sentence.

He returned to drug trafficking until he was arrested by Mexican forces in 2022.