SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A man accused of working as a Mexican cartel enforcer responsible for "rampant violence" in Tijuana in support of the cartel's drug trafficking activities has been extradited to San Diego to face federal drug trafficking charges, it was announced Thursday.
Edgar Herrera Pardo, 35, was originally indicted in 2019 for his alleged role in Los Cabos, a group of cartel enforcers the U.S. Attorney's Office says worked to control the border region to ensure drug trafficking continued unabated for Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, or CJNG.
Herrera Pardo, who is also known by the moniker El Caiman, was arrested in Mexico about four months after he was indicted and had been in custody there until Wednesday, when he arrived in San Diego.
"According to the government's allegations, Herrera Pardo and his group of enforcers unleashed appalling violence on Tijuana on behalf of a powerful drug cartel that is responsible for moving large quantities of illicit drugs into the U.S.," said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman in a statement.
The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges that Herrera Pardo was one of Los Cabos' leaders. The group is accused of planning more than 150 murders over the course of an approximately six-month period.
Prosecutors also allege Los Cabos is responsible for the 2018 slayings of three San Diego-area teenagers in Tijuana, as well as the killings of at least three police officers.
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