[Source: Reuters]

Mexico on Thursday began to hand over to U.S. authorities major figures in the country’s criminal underworld, part of a surprise extradition of nearly 30 jailed convicts or others accused of ties to violent drug cartels.

Some are aging gang leaders who reigned over international trafficking rings decades ago focused on cocaine and heroin. Others are much younger leaders engaged in moving large quantities of deadly fentanyl into the U.S. more recently.

Mexico’s attorney general’s office and the security ministry confirmed that officials were handing over 29 cartel figures to the U.S. The decision follows ongoing threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose across-the-board tariffs on Mexican goods.

Jose Angel “El Guerito” Canobbio, a high-ranking figure in Sinaloa’s fentanyl-trafficking Chapitos wing, is also being turned over, according to a Mexican security source.

Reuters reported the unusual handover, Mexico’s largest in years, before Mexican security officials confirmed it in a statement, which did not include the names of the people being sent to the U.S.

But the group includes Rafael Caro Quintero, a veteran cartel boss convicted of murdering a U.S. anti-narcotics agent in 1985, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Among the newer cartel figures are Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, brother of Mexico’s most-wanted drug lord, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, who leads the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), sources said. U.S. authorities have offered a $15 million reward for any information leading to the arrest of Nemesio, known as “El Mencho.”

U.S. authorities say CJNG is one of the two major Mexican drug gangs, along with the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, responsible for pushing fentanyl onto U.S. streets over the past few years.

The mass extradition in just one day marks a significant escalation compared to past years.

Between 2019 and 2023, Mexico extradited an average of some 65 wanted criminal suspects per year to its northern neighbor, according to data provided by a U.S. official.

Caro Quintero, long wanted by U.S. officials, will arrive in New York on Thursday evening, three sources familiar with the matter said. He has been indicted there on drug trafficking charges.

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