The Trump administration touted the extraditions of more than two dozen defendants from Mexico after the Department of Justice announced that the U.S. had taken 29 into custody.
“Today, the United States secured custody of 29 defendants from Mexico who are facing charges in districts around the country relating to racketeering, drug-trafficking, murder, illegal use of firearms, money laundering, and other crimes,” the DOJ noted in a Thursday press release.
The announcement came as the president seeks to crack down on drug cartels and secure the nation’s southern border.
MEXICO EXTRADITES DOZENS OF CARTEL LEADERS AND MEMBERS TO US, INCLUDING DRUG LORD RAFAEL CARO QUINTERO
This image released by the FBI shows the wanted posted for Rafael Caro Quintero. (FBI via AP, File)
“President Trump directed the Department of Justice and the Department of State to make this happen, and Attorney General Bondi and Secretary of State Rubio did a tremendous job in getting this done,” the White House press secretary said in a statement on Friday.
The statement noted that the group “includes one of the most evil cartel bosses in the world, Rafael Caro Quintero, who tortured and murdered DEA Agent Kiki Camerena in 1985.”
“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,” the statement adds.
After President Donald Trump issued an executive order on the topic in January, the State Department announced the designation of eight groups as foreign terrorist organizations last week.
Notorious entities including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua were among those designated.
TRUMP STATE DEPARTMENT DECLARES TREN DE ARAGUA, MS-13, MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS AS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS
“The defendants taken into U.S. custody today include leaders and managers of drug cartels recently designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Cártel de Golfo (Gulf Cartel),” the Department of Justice noted in its Thursday press release.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who was just sworn in last week, declared that the federal law enforcement agency and its “partners will scour the ends of the earth to bring terrorists and cartel members to justice,” the release noted.
MEXICAN DRUG CARTEL LEADER EXTRADITED TO THE US TO FACE FEDERAL DRUG TRAFFICKING CHARGES
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“The era of harming Americans and walking free is over,” he said.
Fox News’ Kaitlin Sprague contributed to this report
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