Mexico Extradites 29 Cartel Members to US

Among extradited cartel members is Rafael Caro Quintero wanted for the 1985 killing of a DEA agent. Extraditions come as U.S. tariffs on Mexican imports loom.

Rafael Caro Quintero in a file photo. FBI

Mexico on Thursday extradited 29 cartel members, including a drug lord wanted for the 1985 murder of a U.S. agent, to the United States.

Those taken into U.S. custody from Mexico are convicts or others who have been accused of ties to violent drug cartels.

The individuals are facing charges relating to racketeering, drug trafficking, murder, illegal use of firearms, money laundering, and other crimes in the United States, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Among those extradited is Rafael Caro Quintero, a drug kingpin who is allegedly involved in the killing of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique Camarena Salazar in 1985.

Caro Quintero had previously denied involvement in the murder. He was released in 2013 on a technicality by a Mexican judge and returned to drug trafficking before being recaptured in 2022.

“Caro Quintero, a cartel kingpin who unleashed violence, destruction, and death across the United States and Mexico, has spent four decades atop DEA’s most wanted fugitives list, and today we can proudly say he has arrived in the United States where justice will be served,” DEA acting administrator Derek Maltz said in a statement.

Maltz stated that Caro Quintero’s extradition is “extremely personal for the men and women of DEA,” who believe that he is responsible for “the brutal torture and murder” of Camarena Salazar.

“It is also a victory for the Camarena family. Today sends a message to every cartel leader, every trafficker, every criminal poisoning our communities: You will be held accountable,” he said.

Also extradited were Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, the brother of drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, who allegedly led the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG), and Martin Sotelo, who is accused of participating in the 2022 murder of Deputy Sheriff Ned Byrd.

The DOJ stated that those extradited include “leaders and managers of drug cartels recently designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” such as the Sinaloa cartel, CJNG, Los Zetas, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Gulf cartel.

Mexico also transferred Miguel Trevino Morales and his brother, Omar Trevino Morales, both leaders of the violent drug trafficking organization Los Zetas, to U.S. authorities.

“As President Trump has made clear, cartels are terrorist groups, and this Department of Justice is devoted to destroying cartels and transnational gangs,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated. “We will not rest until we secure justice for the American people.”

The Mexican government said the transfer was carried out at the U.S. DOJ’s request and was part of its effort to promote “coordination, cooperation, and bilateral reciprocity, within the framework of respect for the sovereignty of both nations” with U.S. authorities.

Mexican cartel figure Rafael Caro Quintero is escorted by FBI agents as he arrives on U.S. soil at an airport in New York on Feb. 27, 2025. Handout via Reuters

Tariffs Scheduled for March 4

Trump said on Thursday that he would impose 25 percent tariffs on all Mexican imports starting March 4, saying the country was not doing enough to help the United States curb the flow of fentanyl and migrants.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said that drugs like fentanyl were still “pouring into” the United States from Mexico at unacceptable levels leading to a substantial number of deaths in the United States.

“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the U.S.A, and therefore, until it stops or is seriously limited, the proposed tariffs scheduled to go into effect on March 4 will, indeed, go into effect as scheduled,” Trump stated.

Mexican deputy foreign trade minister Luis Rosendo Gutierrez and his team met with U.S. officials in Washington on Wednesday to discuss improving trade relations between the two nations.

Gutierrez told reporters that his team was working to reach an agreement with the U.S. government on the tariff.

Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is the leading cause of death for Americans aged between 18 and 45. More than 107,000 overdose deaths were recorded in the United States in 2023, most of which were linked to fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Matthew Horwood and Reuters contributed to this report.