The Mexican government has turned over Rafael Caro Quintero and 28 other individuals associated with Mexican drug cartels to U.S. authorities.
The U.S. government had requested their extradition as President Donald Trump has threatened to impose major tariffs on Mexico due to the flow of illegal drugs.
Caro Quintero was the former leader of the Guadalajara Cartel and was once one of the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives. In 2013, he was released from prison after 28 years when a Mexican court overturned his conviction on a technicality. However, he was arrested again in 2022 after returning to drug trafficking and being held responsible for a series of violent turf battles in northern Mexico.
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Caro Quintero is also accused of being behind the killing of American DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar in 1985. The story of this torture and killing became the basis for the Netflix show "Narcos: Mexico."
The recent move by Mexico to hand over Caro Quintero and others comes as the Trump administration has designated multiple Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
Additionally, the U.S. is set to begin imposing tariffs on Mexican imports on Tuesday. It remains unclear if these recent actions by Mexico will cause the Trump administration to reconsider the planned tariffs.
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