Mexico has extradited 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States in the latest show of cooperation with the Trump administration’s crackdown on cross-border drug trafficking.
The group includes Abigael González Valencia, a top leader of “Los Cuinis” — a financial arm of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) — and Roberto Salazar, wanted for the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy. Others have ties to the Sinaloa Cartel and additional violent drug organizations.
DOJ: “Severe Consequences” Coming
“These 26 men have all played a role in bringing violence and drugs to American shores — under this Department of Justice, they will face severe consequences for their crimes against this country,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. She praised Mexico’s National Security team for its collaboration.
The transfers mark the second major extradition in recent months. In February, Mexico sent 29 cartel operatives — including infamous drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, responsible for the 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena — after the U.S. agreed not to seek the death penalty.
High-Level Targets
Also among Tuesday’s group is Servando “La Tuta” Gómez Martinez, a former teacher who led the Knights Templar Cartel and once controlled Michoacan through a mix of political manipulation, commerce control, and brutal violence. He was serving a 55-year Mexican prison sentence before being expelled.
Abigael González Valencia is the brother-in-law of CJNG boss Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, one of the U.S. government’s most-wanted fugitives, with a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture. Along with his brothers, Abigael helped finance CJNG’s rise into one of the world’s most dangerous cartels, responsible for trafficking massive quantities of cocaine, meth, and fentanyl into the U.S.
One brother, José González Valencia, was captured under Trump’s first term while hiding in Brazil and sentenced in June to 30 years in U.S. federal prison for international cocaine trafficking.
Political Context
The February extraditions came as Mexico sought to avoid a Trump administration threat to impose 30% tariffs on Mexican imports. Last month, President Trump and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to delay those tariffs for 90 days to allow security negotiations to continue.
Sheinbaum has shown more willingness than her predecessor to aggressively pursue cartel leadership, though she continues to reject calls for U.S. military intervention inside Mexico.
A United Front Against the Cartels
“This transfer is yet another example of what is possible when two governments stand united against violence and impunity,” U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said. “These fugitives will now face justice in U.S. courts, and the citizens of both of our nations will be safer from these common enemies.”
