Jorge Antonio Gonzalez Rocha
21 January 2026•Update: 21 January 2026
MEXICO CITY
The Mexican government extradited 37 high-profile members of drug cartels to the US, a top security official said Tuesday.
In a post on the US social media company X’s platform, Mexican Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said the 37 inmates posed a “serious risk to national security” and were transferred to US authorities in Washington, Houston, New York, Pennsylvania, San Antonio and San Diego.
“The operation was carried out in accordance with the National Security Act and under bilateral cooperation mechanisms, with full respect for national sovereignty. At the request of the U.S. Department of Justice, a commitment was made not to seek the death penalty,” Garcia Harfuch wrote.
The inmates were transported aboard seven Mexican Air Force aircraft. In total, the Mexican government led by President Claudia Sheinbaum has extradited 92 high-profile criminal figures linked to drug trafficking to the US.
The Sheinbaum administration has pledged to expand cooperation with the United States to combat drug trafficking since President Donald Trump entered the White House last year.
Within this framework, the Mexican government has conducted three large-scale deportations of cartel operatives to the US in February, August and most recently in January of this year.
The latest developments in Mexico-US cooperation to curb drug trafficking come after Trump expressed intentions to launch military operations on Mexican territory following a military operation early this month in Caracas, Venezuela resulting in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were then taken to the United States to face charges including narco-terrorism.
