Mexico is giving in to President Donald Trump’s request to extradite dozens of high-level cartel leaders and members to the U.S. as part of his demands to crack down on dangerous cartels as well as fentanyl production and distribution.
Rafael Caro Quintero, a former leader of the Guadalajara cartel involved in the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985. The founders of Los Zetas, Miguel and Omar Morales, also known as Z-40 and Z-42, will be extradited to the U.S. as well, reports Fox News.
“This morning, 29 people who were deprived of their liberty in different penitentiary centers in the country were transferred to the United States of America, which were required due to their links with criminal organizations for drug trafficking, among other crimes,” Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office and Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection wrote.
“The custody, transfer and formal delivery of said people is carried out under institutional protocols with due respect for their fundamental rights, in accordance with our Constitution and the National Security Law and at the request of the United States Department of Justice.
“This action is part of the tasks of coordination, cooperation and bilateral reciprocity, within the framework of respect for the sovereignty of both nations.”
Credited negotiations occurred when Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente and other top economic and military officials visted with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in D.C.
Fox News reports:
Negotiations resulted in the handover of one of the FBI’s ten most wanted fugitives, Caro Quintero, who walked free in 2013 after serving 28 years in prison. Caro Quintero was released when a court overturned his 40-year sentence for the 1985 kidnapping and killing of DEA agent Camarena…
The FBI added Caro Quintero to the Top 10 Most Wanted list in 2018 and offered a reward of up to $20 million for information leading to Quintero’s arrest and/or conviction…
The removal of the Treviño Morales brothers also marks the end of a long process that began after the capture in 2013 of Miguel Treviño Morales and his brother, Omar, in 2015. The process went on for so many years that Mexico Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero described the lags as “truly shameful.”
The Treviño Morales family, accused by American authorities of running the violent Northeast Cartel from prison, have charges pending in the U.S. for alleged participation in a criminal organization, drug trafficking, gun offenses and money laundering.
