The Mexican government has sent dozens of cartel members to the United States amid ongoing pressure from the Trump administration to take down drug trafficking networks.
Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said the detainees “represented a real threat to the country’s security.”
“The action was carried out in accordance with the National Security Law and under bilateral cooperation mechanisms, with full respect for national sovereignty. At the request of @TheJusticeDept, a commitment was made not to seek the death penalty,” Harfuch wrote on X. “These individuals were taken to the cities of Washington, Houston, New York, Pennsylvania, San Antonio, and San Diego, aboard 7 aircraft from the Armed Forces.”
He noted that a total of 92 high-impact criminals “have now been sent to the United States during this administration, individuals who will no longer be able to generate violence in our country.”
Among those now in U.S. custody are “prolific human smugglers, violent arms traffickers, and alleged members of dangerous drug cartels, including those designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (CDN, formerly Los Zetas), and Cártel de Golfo (CDG) as well as additional drug trafficking organizations, such as the Gulf Cartel, La Linea, and the former Beltrán-Leyva Organization,” the Department of Justice explained.
“This is another landmark achievement in the Trump Administration’s mission to destroy the cartels. These 37 cartel members – including terrorists from the Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG, and others – will now pay for their crimes against the American people on American soil,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “We are grateful for this collaboration with our international partners and will deliver swift, comprehensive justice for members of Foreign Terrorist Organizations who have spent years preying on the American people.”
