Under pressure from Trump, Mexico extradites cartel kingpins

by Daniel Rook

Mexico on Thursday extradited some of its most notorious imprisoned drug lords to the United States in a bid to avert sweeping tariffs, including a cartel kingpin wanted for decades over the murder of a US undercover agent.

Rafael Caro Quintero, who allegedly ordered the kidnap, torture and killing of DEA special agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in the 1980s, and several other top gang figures were among 29 suspects handed over.

Caro Quintero was on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of 10 most-wanted fugitives until his capture in 2022.

If convicted, he and several others could face the death penalty, the US Department of Justice said, adding that prosecutors would also consider terrorism charges.

The surprise extraditions come as Mexico scrambles to seal a deal with Washington to avoid being hit with trade duties that Trump has linked to illegal migration and drug flows.

Trump has designated eight Latin American drug trafficking organizations -- including six Mexican cartels -- terrorist organizations.

"As President Trump has made clear, cartels are terrorist groups, and this Department of Justice is devoted to destroying cartels and transnational gangs," US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.

"We will prosecute these criminals to the fullest extent of the law in honor of the brave law enforcement agents who have dedicated their careers -- and in some cases, given their lives -- to protect innocent people from the scourge of violent cartels," she added.

The handover of so many suspects at the same time was "historic," Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations at the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), told AFP.

In the past, Mexico would extradite only a few suspects at once, he said, adding: "They're certainly hoping that it will have a positive impact on the tariff negotiations."

The DEA was "celebrating" Caro Quintero's extradition in particular, he said.

DEA acting administrator Derek S. Maltz called it an "extremely personal" moment for the entire agency.

The suspects also included the former leaders of the ultra-violent Zetas cartel, brothers Omar and Miguel Angel Trevino Morales.

Former Juarez cartel boss Vicente Carrillo and a brother of Nemesio Oseguera, head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful criminal organizations, were also on the list.

- 'National security threat' -

The announcement came as a high-level Mexican delegation, including the foreign, defense and security ministers, visited Washington for talks with counterparts, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The two countries agreed to take an unspecified "series of coordinated actions" to tackle drug trafficking, the Mexican government said.

The aim was to reduce fentanyl deaths as well as the illegal trafficking of firearms, it said.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has pledged to collaborate with Washington, while rejecting any "invasion" of her country's sovereignty.

She has repeatedly expressed optimism that tariffs between the two countries can be avoided, and said Thursday she hoped to speak to Trump to seal a deal.

Shortly after taking office, Trump announced duties of up to 25 percent on Mexican imports, citing illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl.

He issued a last-minute suspension until March 4 after Sheinbaum agreed to deploy 10,000 more troops to the Mexico-US border to tackle illegal migration and drug smuggling.

Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in the White House in January saying that the cartels "constitute a national security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime."

The move has raised speculation about possible military action against the cartels -- something that Sheinbaum has said she would oppose.

Last week, Sheinbaum confirmed that the United States had been operating drones spying on Mexican cartels as part of a collaboration that has existed for years.

Mexican authorities have recently announced a series of major drug seizures and the arrest of two prominent members of the Sinaloa Cartel, which was among the groups designated terrorist organizations by Trump.

© Agence France-Presse