WASHINGTON (AP) —Mexico is expelling 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States in the latest major deal with the President Donald Trump ’s administration, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The cartel leaders and other prominent figures were being flown from Mexico to the U.S. on Tuesday, the person said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operation that was still ongoing.
Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office and Security ministry confirmed the transfers, which were carried out after a promise from the U.S. Justice Department that U.S. officials would not seek the death penalty in any of the cases.
Expelled cartel figures include leader of group aligned with notorious cartel CJNG
Those being handed over to U.S. custody include Abigael González Valencia, the brother-in-law of CJNG leader Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, a top target of the U.S. government. He was arrested in February 2015 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, and had been fighting extradition to the United States since then.
Alongside his two brothers, Valencia led “Los Cuinis,” which financed the founding and growth of the CJNG, one of the most powerful and dangerous cartels in Mexico. CJNG traffics hundreds of tons of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States and other countries and is known for extreme violence, murders, torture and corruption.
Another person, Roberto Salazar, is accused of participating in the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The Trump administration made dismantling dangerous drug cartels a key priority, designating CJNG and seven other Latin American organized crime groups foreign terrorist organizations.
Transfers of cartel leaders come ahead of US tariffs on Mexico
The transfers come days before 25% tariffs on Mexican imports are to take effect. Late last month, Trump spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and agreed to put off threatened 30% tariffs for another 90 days to allow for negotiations.
Sheinbaum has shown a willingness to cooperate more on security than her predecessor, specifically being more aggressive in pursuit of Mexico’s cartels.
But she has drawn a clear line when it comes to Mexico’s sovereignty, rejecting suggestions by Trump and others of intervention by the U.S. military.