By Steve Neavling
Mexico has transferred 26 high-ranking cartel members to U.S. custody in a move officials said was aimed at breaking up criminal networks and preventing them from operating from prison, CBS News reports.
“These transfers are not only a strategic measure to ensure public safety, but also reflect a firm determination to prevent these criminals from continuing to operate from within prisons and to break up their networks of influence,” Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said Wednesday.
President Claudia Sheinbaum called them “sovereign decisions,” though they come amid U.S. pressure to crack down on cartels and fentanyl production.
Those sent north include Abigael González Valencia, leader of “Los Cuinis” and brother-in-law of CJNG boss Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, and Roberto Salazar, wanted in the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy. Servando Gómez Martinez, “La Tuta,” the former Knights Templar leader, was also among them.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the men “have all played a role in bringing violence and drugs to American shores — under this Department of Justice, they will face severe consequences for their crimes against this country.”
It is the second such transfer in recent months, following the February handover of 29 cartel figures, including Rafael Caro Quintero, in exchange for a U.S. agreement not to seek the death penalty.
U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson said the latest extraditions show “what is possible when two governments stand united against violence and impunity.”
