Mexican Drug Lords Come to America: What Happens Now?

In a deal struck by President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, the Department of Justice announced Aug. 12 that 26 Mexican drug lords were brought onto US soil to face the music. This is the second haul of kingpins – the first happened in February when 29 such persons were extradited to America. These fugitives will face charges “relating to drug-trafficking, hostage-taking, kidnapping, illegal use of firearms, human smuggling, money laundering, the murder of a [sheriff’s] deputy, and other crimes,” according to a news release from the Justice Department.

Mexican Drug Lords – What Happens Now?

In negotiations prior to the release, Sheinbaum insisted that the accused not face the death penalty, which means, if convicted, they will serve time in a US prison. The DOJ list of persons extradited reveals that 25 can be sentenced up to life in prison, and one faces up to 45 years behind bars.

Among those in US custody are Abigael Gonzalez Valencia, Roberto Salazar, and Servando “La Tuta” Gomez, a leader of the Knights Templar cartel. Most of those handed over for prosecution are not household names, but law enforcement has been after them for a while. Salazar, for example, has been wanted by US authorities since 2008 in connection with the killing of a county sheriff’s deputy in Los Angeles. Another, Rafael Caro Quintero, also known as the “Narco of Narcos,” is said to be behind the grisly murder of a DEA agent dating back to 1985.

During the 2024 campaign, Trump promised the American people that he planned to rid the country of powerful and dangerous cartels and bring to justice those responsible for committing drug crimes. These 55 individuals brought into the US homeland for prosecution are a significant development in keeping that promise. Ronald Johnson, the US ambassador to Mexico, was quoted in the Associated Press, saying, “These fugitives will now face justice in U.S. courts, and the citizens of both of our nations will be safer from these common enemies.”

The website RankRed.com noted the significance of this latest move in the drug war and how it’s been a long time coming:

“After the downfall of the Medellin and Cali cartels in 1990s, the Mexican drug lords became the dominant force in illegal drug trade as they are responsible for more than 90% [of] cocaine and other drugs entering the United States.”

The transfer came just a few days after a New York Times report maintained that Trump ordered US military forces to round up Mexican drug leaders. This sparked a firestorm about whether US forces would conduct military operations on foreign soil.

However, Sheinbaum made it clear that “[t]he United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military. We co-operate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out.”

All this activity surrounding Mexican drug lords indicates that Trump has put the screws to our neighbor to the south, either cajoling or coercing them to cough up the leaders in the illegal trafficking of drugs into the United States. Quoted in the CBC, Ambassador Johnson may have put it best when he said, "This transfer is yet another example of what is possible when two governments unite against violence and impunity. These fugitives will now face justice in American courts, and the citizens of both our nations will be safer."