Mexico transfers 26 cartel figures wanted by U.S. authorities in deal with Trump administration

The seal of the Department of Justice is shown in Washington, Aug. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON — Mexico sent 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States Tuesday in the latest major deal with the Trump administration as American authorities ratchet up pressure on criminal networks smuggling drugs across the border.

Those being handed over to U.S. custody include Abigael Gonzalez Valencia, a leader of “Los Cuinis,” a group closely aligned with notorious cartel Jalisco New Generation or CJNG, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Another person, Roberto Salazar, is wanted in connection to the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, the person said. Other defendants have ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, the Los Zetas cartel and other violent drug trafficking groups.

They were being flown to American soil after the Justice Department agreed not to seek the death penalty against any of the defendants or against any cartel leaders and members transferred to the U.S. in February, the person said. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an operation that was still ongoing.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office and Security ministry confirmed that 26 defendants were transferred but didn’t identify them. Mexican security officials had planned a news conference for Wednesday.

It’s the second time in months Mexico has expelled cartel figures accused of narcotics smuggling, murder and other crimes amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration to curb the flow of drugs across the border. In February, Mexico handed over to American authorities 29 cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985.

The February transfers came days before 25% tariffs on Mexican imports were to take effect. Late last month, President Donald Trump spoke with Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and agreed to put off threatened 30% tariffs for another 90 days to allow for negotiations.

Sheinbaum has shown a willingness to cooperate more on security than her predecessor, specifically being more aggressive in pursuit of Mexico’s cartels. But she has drawn a clear line when it comes to Mexico’s sovereignty, rejecting suggestions by Trump and others of intervention by the U.S. military.

The Trump administration made dismantling dangerous drug cartels a key priority, designating CJNG and seven other Latin American organized crime groups foreign terrorist organizations. Since the new designations in February, the Trump administration has begun bringing terror charges in some cartel related cases.

Abigael Gonzalez Valencia is the brother-in-law of CJNG leader Nemesio Ruben “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, a top target of the U.S. government. Abigael Gonzalez Valencia was arrested in February 2015 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and had been fighting extradition to the United States since then. The U.S. government has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to “El Mencho’s” arrest or conviction.

Alongside his two brothers, Abigael Gonzalez Valencia led “Los Cuinis,” which financed the the founding and growth of the CJNG, one of the most powerful and dangerous cartels in Mexico. CJNG traffics hundreds of tons of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the United States and other countries and is known for extreme violence, murders, torture, and corruption.

One of his brothers, Jose Gonzalez Valencia, was sentenced in Washington’s federal court in June to 30 years in a U.S. prison after pleading guilty to international cocaine trafficking. Jose Gonzalez Valencia was arrested in 2017 under the first Trump administration at a beach resort in Brazil while vacationing with his family under a fake name.

Alanna Durkin Richer And María Verza, The Associated Press

Verza reported from Mexico City.