OAN Staff Blake Wolf
3:11 PM – Friday, February 28, 2025
The Trump administration has extradited at least 29 cartel leaders from Mexico, including a wanted drug lord behind the 1985 murder of a DEA agent.
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Rafael Caro Quintero was the drug kingpin convicted in the 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena.
Quintero was among the criminals extradited to the United States — in a move that is widely considered to be one of the most successful extraditions in Mexico’s history.
The massive extradition signals a major step forward in the relations between the two countries, which has been shaky as President Donald Trump threatened to implement tariffs due to the large amounts of fentanyl flowing into the United States.
Notably, Omar and Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, former leaders of the notorious Zetas cartel, were also involved in the extradition.
The Treviño brothers were previously wanted on drug trafficking charges, along with kidnapping and murder charges.
“As President Trump has made clear, cartels are terrorist groups, and this Department of Justice is devoted to destroying cartels and transnational gangs,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday.
“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 continued.
The move follows after President Trump signed an executive order designating Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
Mexico responded to the order, taking action against major cartels while also allowing U.S. spy drones to fly over their country, providing Mexican authorities key intelligence which assisted in arrests — according to Mexico’s defense secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla.
“Today sends a message to every cartel leader, every trafficker, every criminal poisoning our communities: You will be held accountable,” stated DEA Acting Administrator Derek Maltz.
“No matter how long it takes, no matter how far you run, justice will find you,” he added.
The Justice Department revealed that six of the 29 individuals could face the federal death penalty for their crimes.
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