Mexico hands over 26 top cartel leaders to US under new Trump deal

Mexico is handing over 26 top cartel leaders to the United States this week in a deal with the Trump administration. 

The cartel figures were scheduled to fly to the U.S. on Tuesday.

“Today is the latest example of the Trump administration’s historic efforts to dismantle cartels and foreign terrorist organizations,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News Digital. “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. We are grateful to President Sheinbaum and the Mexican government for their collaboration in this matter.”

Abigael González Valencia, a leader of the “Los Cuinis,” cartel, which is aligned with the notorious Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG) and Roberto Salazar, who is accused of participating in the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy, are among those being handed over to the U.S. 

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The Trump administration has classified the CJNG as a terrorist organization. 

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office and Security Ministry confirmed the men were being handed over, saying the deal was made after the U.S. Justice Department said it wouldn’t seek the death penalty for any of the men.

The letters “CJNG” for the group’s formal name, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, covers the facade of an abandoned home in El Limoncito, in the Michoacan state of Mexico, Oct. 30, 2021.  (Eduardo Verdugo/AP Photo)

The deal comes amid the Trump administration’s focus on border security and attempt to crack down on Mexican cartels that send drugs across the border. 

“President Trump’s top priority is protecting the homeland, which is why he took the bold step to designate several cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations,” deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly previously said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.  (Rodrigo OropezaA/AFP via Getty Images)

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday said the U.S. military would not be entering Mexican territory following reports that Washington could take action to combat the cartels. 

“We co-operate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion,” she said. “It’s off the table, absolutely off the table.”

The deal comes amid the Trump administration’s focus on border security and attempt to crack down on Mexican cartels that send drugs across the border.  (Can Hasasu/Anadolu via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump has also reportedly secretly authorized U.S. military force against cartels in Latin America designated by the U.S. as terrorist organizations, which would allow U.S. forces to engage with them.

It also comes ahead of 25% tariffs on Mexican goods coming into the U.S. imposed by Trump. 

Trump spoke with Sheinbaum, who has been more aggressive than the last president about going after cartels, and told her he would delay 30% tariffs on the country for 90 days for negotiations. 

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Mexico also extradited 29 cartel leaders in February, including Rafael Caro Quintero, who prosecutors say was behind the torture and murder of a DEA agent in 1985. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.