The transfer marks the third such move since President Donald Trump took office, bringing the total to 99 alleged criminals who have been turned over.
Mexico’s security secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said in a statement on X that the move was done in accordance with national security law with the “full respect of national sovereignty.”
“At the request of @TheJusticeDept, a commitment was made not to seek the death penalty,” Harfuch said. “These individuals were taken to the cities of Washington, Houston, New York, Pennsylvania, San Antonio, and San Diego, aboard 7 aircraft from the Armed Forces.”
Attached to the post are images showing armed military personnel lined up to an airplane as armored trucks arrive.
Mexico’s move takes place in the shadow of a dramatic U.S. military operation in Venezuela earlier this month, where former dictator Nicolas Maduro was captured.
The Trump administration has wasted little time pivoting its “maximum pressure” campaign toward its southern neighbor.
By invoking what he calls the “Donroe Doctrine,” a 21st-century revival of American dominance in the Western Hemisphere, Trump is signaling that national sovereignty will no longer serve as a shield for governments that are unable or unwilling to control narco-terrorist networks.
Trump made the stakes for Mexico clear during a Fox News interview earlier this month.
“We are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels,” Trump said, asserting that criminal organizations are effectively “running Mexico.”
The U.S. Department of State recently reaffirmed the importance of the partnership, noting that the bilateral Security Implementation Group is scheduled to meet on Jan. 23 to address fentanyl and weapons trafficking.
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While a full-scale ground invasion is unlikely, given the deep economic integration under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the administration is instilling fear in Mexico City.
The capture of Maduro has demonstrated that the White House is willing to set aside international norms for the sake of national security, leaving Mexican officials to wonder if “surgical” drone strikes on fentanyl are next.
