Mexico deports 29 drug cartel figures to the U.S. as officials meet with Trump team
Mexico has sent 29 drug cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985, to the United States as the Trump administration turns up the pressure on drug trafficking organizations.
More than two dozen drug cartel suspects from Mexico — including the man charged in the 1985 slaying of a U.S. drug agent — are in U.S. custody after Mexican officials agreed to send them to the United States, four sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The 29 people accused of violence and drug trafficking were deported as the Trump administration has turned up pressure on Mexico to curb illegal immigration, cartel activity and fentanyl production with a promised 25% tariff on all Mexican imports set to start next week.
“For those of us who have investigated Mexican cartels for many generations, this is truly an historical moment," said Ray Donovan, the former chief of operations at the Drug Enforcement Administration. "We have never seen this many sent from Mexico to the U.S. in one day.”
Among those deported by Mexico is Rafael Caro Quintero, who U.S. officials believe is responsible for the 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena and others.
Caro Quintero has been on the DEA's most-wanted fugitives list for four decades. "Today we can proudly say he has arrived in the United States where justice will be served,” acting DEA Administrator Derek S. Maltz said.
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