according<\/a> to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe list includes leaders and high-ranking members of drug cartels recently designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) by the Trump administration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These groups include the Sinaloa Cartel, C\u00e1rtel de Jalisco Nueva Generaci\u00f3n (CJNG), C\u00e1rtel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and the C\u00e1rtel del Golfo (Gulf Cartel). It also includes leaders of the Ju\u00e1rez and Beltr\u00e1n Leyva cartels, which have not been designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“These defendants are collectively alleged to have been responsible for the importation into the United States of massive quantities of poison, including cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin, as well as associated acts of violence,” the DOJ said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the defendants had been subject to longstanding U.S. extradition requests that went unfulfilled during the previous administration, according to the DOJ. However, the Mexican government moved forward with the transfers following the designation of these cartels as terrorist organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Federal prosecutors will assess whether additional charges related to terrorism and violence are warranted and whether capital punishment is applicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among those extradited is Rafael Caro Quintero<\/strong>, 72, who is accused of orchestrating the 1985 torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique \u201cKiki\u201d Camarena. He is also considered one of the founders of the Guadalajara Cartel, the first major Mexican drug cartel, which emerged in the 1970s. He could face the death penalty or life-imprisonment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n“Caro Quintero, a cartel kingpin who unleashed violence, destruction, and death across the United States and Mexico, has spent four decades atop DEA\u2019s most wanted fugitives list, and today we can proudly say he has arrived in the United States where justice will be served,” said DEA Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz. “This moment is extremely personal for the men and women of DEA who believe Caro Quintero is responsible for the brutal torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other notable defendants who could face the death penalty include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nVicente Carrillo Fuentes, El Viceroy,<\/strong> led the Ju\u00e1rez Cartel after his brother, Amado Carrillo Fuentes, allegedly died following a botched plastic surgery in 1997. He is charged in the Western District of Texas with continuing criminal enterprise, drug trafficking, money laundering, witness tampering, ordering the intentional killing of individuals to prevent them from communicating with U.S. law enforcement, and murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise.<\/li>\n\n\n\nJos\u00e9 Rodolfo Villarreal-Hern\u00e1ndez, El Gato,<\/strong> held a leadership position in the Beltr\u00e1n Leyva Cartel and is accused of orchestrating a murder plot in Southlake, Texas, in 2013. He faces charges of interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.<\/li>\n\n\n\nAndrew Clark, El Dictador,<\/strong> a Canadian citizen, was linked to Canadian Olympic snowboarder and fugitive Ryan Wedding. Clark served as a logistical liaison for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Pacific Cartel. He was extradited on charges of drug trafficking and homicide.<\/li>\n\n\n\nLuis Gerardo M\u00e9ndez Estevane, El T\u00edo,<\/strong> was a member of Los Aztecas, the armed wing of the Ju\u00e1rez Cartel, and one of the founders of the breakaway group La Empresa. He is accused of involvement in the March 13, 2010, killings of three individuals associated with the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez, as well as the massacre of 15 teenagers at a party in the same city.<\/li>\n\n\n\nAlder Martin Sotelo<\/strong> is alleged to have participated in the 2022 murder of Deputy Sheriff Ned Byrd. He could face the death penalty in North Carolina for the crime.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nOther notable defendants extradited to the U.S., and who could face life in prison, include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAntonio Oseguera Cervantes, Tony Montana,<\/strong> who is reportedly the brother of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as El Mencho, leader of the CJNG cartel.<\/li>\n\n\n\nJos\u00e9 Alberto Garc\u00eda Vilano, La Kena,<\/strong> leader of the Los Ciclones group within the Gulf Cartel (CDG). He is accused of orchestrating the 2023 kidnapping and murder of two U.S. citizens and the rescue of two others in Matamoros.<\/li>\n\n\n\nMiguel Trevi\u00f1o Morales, Z-40,<\/strong> one of the top leaders of the Zetas Cartel. Mexican authorities believe he was responsible for the 2010 massacre of 72 migrants and the 2011 killings of 193 people, as well as the extreme violence that plagued Mexico in the late 2000s and early 2010s.<\/li>\n\n\n\nOmar Trevi\u00f1o Morales, Z-42,<\/strong> brother of Z-40, who took over the leadership of Los Zetas.<\/li>\n\n\n\nRamiro P\u00e9rez Moreno, El Rama, and Lucio Hern\u00e1ndez Lechuga, Z-100<\/strong>, both alleged high-ranking members of Los Zetas.<\/li>\n\n\n\nJes\u00fas Alberto Galaviz Vega, Z-13 and El Pinky,<\/strong> a leader of the Los Zetas Cartel, allegedly linked to more than 50 attacks on Mexican police officers.<\/li>\n\n\n\nCarlos Alberto Monsiv\u00e1is Trevi\u00f1o, La Bola,<\/strong> leader of the Cartel del Noreste following the split from Los Zetas. He is believed to be one of the masterminds behind a video dismissing Los Zetas’ alleged financing of former Mexican President Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador’s 2006 campaign.<\/li>\n\n\n\nJos\u00e9 \u00c1ngel Canobbio Inzunza, El G\u00fcerito and El 90,<\/strong> the second-in-command of Los Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel linked to the sons of Joaqu\u00edn Guzm\u00e1n Loera, ‘El Chapo.’<\/li>\n\n\n\nEvaristo Cruz S\u00e1nchez, El Vaquero,<\/strong> a regional leader of the Gulf Cartel, who was facing charges in Mexico for kidnapping, extortion, and organized crime.<\/li>\n\n\n\nJos\u00e9 Jes\u00fas M\u00e9ndez Vargas, El Chango,<\/strong> one of the founders of La Familia Michoacana, a cartel that emphasized religion and whose leaders referred to their assassinations and beheadings as “divine justice.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\u201cToday\u2019s actions are a consequence of a White House that negotiates from a position of strength, and an Attorney General who is willing to lead the Department with courage and ferocity,\u201d said Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will prosecute these criminals to the fullest extent of the law in honor of the brave law enforcement agents who have dedicated their careers \u2014 and in some cases, given their lives \u2014 to protect innocent people from the scourge of violent cartels,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. “We will not rest until we secure justice for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n