Why has Mexico handed over drug cartel leaders to US? Who are they?

In what some observers call a “show of compliance” by Mexican authorities, Mexico has handed over 29 drug cartel figures to the US, including Rafael Caro Quintero, one of the FBI’s most wanted. US President Donald Trump’s announcement to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican imports comes just before the handover.

Trump has long criticized Mexico’s inaction, which he claims is a result of. He has referred to them as “quasi-government organizations” in some regions of the nation and points to Mexico as the source of recent years’ highly addictive fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, entering the US.

What actually happened and why is this happening right now can be found here:

Mexico has consented to what?

On Thursday, Mexico handed the US 29 cartel figures who were already imprisoned there. According to news outlets citing the Mexican government, they were taken to eight different US cities and then boarded airplanes at a port north of Mexico City.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi’s statement confirmed that the US had taken the 29 prisoners into custody. There are so few details as of right now regarding where they are being held.

The US Department of Justice has released a list of federal courts in which the 29 defendants will be charged, but it’s not clear when this will exactly occur. They face charges including money laundering, drug trafficking, murder, illegal firearm use, and racketeering.

According to an unnamed source who spoke to the Reuters news agency, at least two of the extradited men will be detained on Friday in Brooklyn. &nbsp,

Mexico’s largest prisoner handover in years occurs. According to Reuters, Mexico extradited about 65 people to the US between 2019 and 2023.

After the Mexican government referred to the operation as a “transfer,” it is unclear whether any formal extradition procedures were in place.

Who has been taken into the US from Mexico?

A list of the 29 defendants was released by the US Justice Department.

According to the Justice Department, there were some of the most powerful cartel leaders who had participated in the trade of cocaine and heroin decades ago as well as several new “narcos” accused of importing fentanyl into the US. A narco is someone who deals in illegal drugs.

Among those who have been given over to the US are:

Caro Quintero

Caro Quintero, 72, was the co-founder of the Guadalajara Cartel, which was known for its marijuana-importing business, and was found guilty of the 1985 murder of US Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. In the 1980s, Guatemala, one of Latin America’s most powerful cartels, engaged in business with late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.

After being found guilty in 1985 of kidnapping and murdering Camarena, he served a 40-year sentence after a judge overturned it because he had been tried improperly. He allegedly reconnected with drug trafficking and remained imprisoned for a number of years while the US offered to extradite him and offered a $ 20 million reward for his arrest.

The Mexican navy re-arrested Caro Quintero in 2022. One of the suspects scheduled to show up in court on Friday in Brooklyn is him.

Brothers Trevino

According to reports from the Mexican media, two brothers who were once the brothers of the now-defunct Los Zetas cartel, Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, also known as Z-40, and Omar Trevino Morales, also known as Z-42, have also been given to the US.

Miguel, 54, was detained in Mexico in 2013 on suspicion of organized crime, drug trafficking, torture, money laundering, and illegal firearm use. In 2015, Omar, 51, was detained on suspicion of money laundering and gun violence violations in Mexico.

The US has accused the Brothers Trevino of running a Zetas splinter faction, the Northeast Cartel, from prison.

El Guerito and Antonio Cervantes

Authorities in the US have identified the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa Cartels as the sources of recent fentanyl arrivals.

Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, 66, the leader of Jalisco, has also been given to the US. Cervantes is the younger brother of the drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho.” Any information pertaining to El Mencho’s whereabouts is available for a $15 million reward from the US.

According to Mexican media and Reuters, Jose Angel “El Guerito” Canobbio, a member of the Sinaloa Cartel, was also handed over to US authorities on Thursday.

Why is this taking place right now?

In executive orders he signed on February 1, Trump made the announcement that 25% of tariffs would apply to imported products from Mexico and Canada. The president confirmed on Thursday that the tariffs would go into effect on Tuesday.

Trump claimed that Mexico and Canada’s failure to stop the flow of street drugs like fentanyl into the US is one of the causes of the tariffs. He stated in a Truth Social post on Thursday that “drugs are still pouring into our country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels.” He also stated that the tariffs will be imposed the following week.

Additionally, Trump signed an executive order designating international drug cartels as “terrorist organizations” on January 20, the same day he was inaugurated.

They “accomplish a certain portion of Mexico as quasi-governmental entities,” according to the order’s text.

Eight Latin American criminal and drug-trafficking organizations were also designated as “global terrorist organizations” by the Trump administration this month. This was done using a Federal Register notice and was distinct from the executive order because it named the groups Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha (also known as MS-13), Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Northeast Cartel, Gulf Cartel, and La Nueva Familia Michoacana.

Both Mexico and Canada have stated that they are doing everything in their power to stop the flow of illegal drugs.

At a press conference on January 21, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, stated that while she would support the US’s efforts to combat drug trafficking, she would not oppose the idea of US troops deploying troops to impose anti-drug-trafficking measures. She said, “We insist on protecting our independence and sovereignty,”

Source: Aljazeera