Mexico extradites Drug kingpins to US!
Washington, Aug 13 (EFE). –
Mexican Attorney General’s Office announced on Tuesday it was handing over Abigael González, alias “El Cuini,” head of the Jalisco Cartel – New Generation (CJNG); Servando Gómez “La Tuta,” leader of the Knights Templar; and Juan Carlos Félix Gastélum, alias “El Chavo Félix,” son-in-law of Ismael Zambada “El Mayo” García, among 26 drug lords handed over by Mexico to the United States.
These 26 people are added to the 29 drug traffickers that Mexico handed over to the United States in February.
The list provided by the US Department of Justice also included Kevin Gil Acosta and Martín Zazueta, linked to Los Chapitos; Abdul Karim Conteh, a Sierra Leonean accused of migrant smuggling; and Leobardo García and Luis Raúl Castro, also known as ‘El Chacho’, both from the Sinaloa Cartel.
Also Pablo Edwin Huerta, alias ‘El Flaquito’, a major Tijuana Cartel kingpin; and Roberto Salazar, wanted for the murder of a Los Angeles sheriff in 2008.
The Justice Department said in a statement that the prisoners face a variety of federal and state criminal charges, including charges related to drug trafficking, kidnapping, illegal use of firearms, human trafficking, money laundering, and murder, among other crimes.
The US charges most of them with trafficking large quantities of drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin.
The 26 will be prosecuted in different parts of the United States, including New York, California, and the District of Columbia, and all face maximum sentences of life imprisonment except Abdul Karim Conteh, who faces 45 years in prison.
“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,” said US Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“We are grateful to Mexico’s National Security team for their collaboration in this matter,” she added.
The Mexican government was responsible for the custody, transfer and formal handover of these individuals, which “was carried out under institutional protocols with due respect for their fundamental rights and due process”, informed the Mexican Attorney General’s Office.
In February, as part of an agreement between the two countries, Mexico handed over 29 drug traffickers imprisoned in the country, including Guadalajara Cartel leader Rafael Caro Quintero and former Los Zetas leaders Miguel Angel and Omar Treviño Morales.
United States President Donald Trump administration earlier this year designated the six main Mexican cartels as terrorist groups: the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco Cartel – New Generation (CJNG), the Northeast Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, Carteles Unidos, and the New Mexican Family. EFE er/mcd
