In a major victory for U.S. law enforcement and the Trump administration’s aggressive stance against cartel violence, Mexico has begun extraditing dozens of high-level cartel leaders to the United States, including some of the most notorious drug lords in modern history. Among them is Rafael Caro Quintero, the former Guadalajara cartel boss responsible for the 1985 torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.
The extraditions come as President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline looms, with one of his key demands being that Mexico take stronger action against cartels and fentanyl trafficking. The Mexican Attorney General’s Office confirmed that “29 people who were deprived of their liberty in different penitentiary centers in the country were transferred to the United States of America.”
This marks a stark shift in U.S.-Mexico relations since Trump’s return to office. For years, cooperation between the two nations on extraditions had stalled, particularly under former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had scaled back DEA operations in protest of U.S. investigations into Mexican officials. Now, with Mexico’s new leadership under President Claudia Sheinbaum, the U.S. is finally receiving long-sought custody of cartel figures who have operated with near impunity.
Rafael Caro Quintero, one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives, was arrested in Mexico in 2022 after allegedly returning to the drug trade following his controversial 2013 release from prison. His original conviction for orchestrating the kidnapping and brutal murder of Kiki Camarena was overturned, despite overwhelming evidence of his role. Following his re-arrest, the U.S. immediately pushed for extradition, but the request was stalled for years—until now.
On Thursday night, Caro Quintero arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, New York, where he was immediately taken into federal custody. The next day, he appeared in a packed New York courtroom, surrounded by over 100 DEA agents, many of whom had spent years hunting him down. In a symbolic moment, U.S. Marshals shackled him with the same handcuffs once carried by Camarena.
Caro Quintero is not the only high-profile figure being extradited. Also included in the group are Miguel and Omar Treviño Morales, the founders of the ruthless Los Zetas cartel. Known as Z-40 and Z-42, the Treviño brothers turned Los Zetas into one of the most violent criminal organizations in the world, responsible for massacres, human trafficking, and large-scale drug operations.
Their extradition marks the end of a decade-long legal process, with Mexico’s Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero calling the delays “truly shameful.” The Treviño brothers are facing a litany of charges in the U.S., including drug trafficking, gun offenses, money laundering, and organized crime.
The timing of these extraditions is no coincidence. The Associated Press reports that they coincided with a visit to Washington, D.C., by Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente, alongside top economic and military officials. Their meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio are part of an ongoing negotiation process as Mexico faces mounting pressure from the Trump administration to crack down on cartel violence—or face severe economic consequences.
Trump’s no-nonsense approach to Mexico has already yielded results. The administration has designated several cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, a move that strengthens the legal framework for targeting cartel networks operating within the U.S. Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made clear that this is just the beginning.
“The group of cartel members who will soon arrive on American soil includes one of the most evil cartel bosses in the world, Rafael Caro Quintero, who tortured and murdered DEA Agent Kiki Camarena in 1985,” Leavitt stated. “The previous administration allowed these criminals to run free and commit crimes all over the world. The Trump administration is declaring these thugs as terrorists—because that is what they are—and demanding justice for the American people.”
