Jan. 20 (UPI) — Under pressure from President Donald Trump, Mexican officials sent 37 more suspected drug cartel members to the United States.
Mexican Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch announced the transfer of the detainees on Tuesday.
“This morning, [Security Cabinet of Mexico] “The transfer of 37 criminal organization operators to the United States poses a real threat to national security,” Garcia said in a translated post on X.
“This action was carried out in accordance with the national security law and bilateral cooperation mechanisms and fully respects national sovereignty,” he added.
“Upon request [the U.S. Department of Justice]and promised not to seek the death penalty,” Garcia added.
Instead, they flew on seven military aircraft to Washington, D.C., Houston, New York, Pennsylvania, San Antonio and San Diego.
Garcia said “high-impact criminals who were sent to the United States during this administration will no longer be able to cause violence in our country” with the handover of 37 alleged cartel members, raising their number to 92.
Mexico deported 29 suspected cartel members to the United States in February and another 26 in August.
Among those transferred Tuesday was alleged Northeastern cartel leader Ricardo González Suceda, also known as El Riqui.
This is the third transfer so far since Trump was sworn in a year ago and involves alleged members of the Sinaloa, Beltran de Leyva, Jalisco New Generation, Northeast and Zetas cartels, which are based in Mexico and operate in the United States.
Trump threatened military action against drug cartels outside Mexico after the U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, on January 3 and flew them to New York to face federal drug trafficking and related charges.
The president said the U.S. military has stopped nearly all drugs entering the United States by water and wants to do the same for drugs entering the country by land.