Close Menu
The Watch
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Watch
    Subscribe
    • Home
    • Top Stories
      • USNORTHCOM
      • Homeland Defense
      • Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
      • Russia
    • USNORTHCOM AOR
      • Arctic
      • North America
      • Mexico
      • The Caribbean
    • eTalk/Panel
      • Arctic eTalks
      • Arctic Academic eTalks
      • RUSI NS Panels
      • Perry Center eTalks/Panels
      • Ted Stevens Center eTalks/Panels
    • ASFR
    • Journal
      1. Enduring Partnerships – V6
      2. Mutually Beneficial Trusted Partnerships
      3. Regional Cooperation
      4. U.S. Shares Military Capabilities
      5. Special Reports
      6. Archive
      7. View All

      Fuerzas Amigas

      July 24, 2025

      Operation Amalgam Eagle

      July 24, 2025

      Mexico’s Cyber Force

      July 24, 2025

      Advancing Arctic Collaboration

      July 24, 2025

      Strengthening the Sweden-U.S. Partnership

      July 24, 2025

      Nordic Vision 2030

      July 24, 2025

      Countering CCP Presence

      July 24, 2025

      Defending the North American Arctic

      July 24, 2025

      Guardians of the Arctic

      July 24, 2025

      WHINSEC Supports Homeland Defense

      July 24, 2025

      Advancing Arctic Collaboration

      July 24, 2025

      Maritime Muscle

      July 24, 2025

      Mexico’s Cyber Force

      July 24, 2025

      Fuerzas Amigas

      July 24, 2025

      Operation Amalgam Eagle

      July 24, 2025

      Operation Fenix

      July 24, 2025

      Mexico transfers 26 cartel figures wanted by the U.S.

      August 29, 2025

      U.S. shipyard joins with Canadian, Finnish firms in bid to build icebreakers

      August 29, 2025

      Upgrades and challenges seen for Royal Bermuda Regiment Coast Guard

      August 27, 2025

      Russian spoofing suspected in Svalbard

      August 27, 2025

      Mexico transfers 26 cartel figures wanted by the U.S.

      August 29, 2025

      U.S. shipyard joins with Canadian, Finnish firms in bid to build icebreakers

      August 29, 2025

      Upgrades and challenges seen for Royal Bermuda Regiment Coast Guard

      August 27, 2025

      Russian spoofing suspected in Svalbard

      August 27, 2025

      Mexico transfers 26 cartel figures wanted by the U.S.

      August 29, 2025

      U.S. shipyard joins with Canadian, Finnish firms in bid to build icebreakers

      August 29, 2025

      Upgrades and challenges seen for Royal Bermuda Regiment Coast Guard

      August 27, 2025

      Russian spoofing suspected in Svalbard

      August 27, 2025
    • About Us
      • Contributors
    • Contact Us
    The Watch
    Subscribe
    Home » Mexico transfers 26 cartel figures wanted by the U.S.
    Mexico

    Mexico transfers 26 cartel figures wanted by the U.S.

    THE ASSOCIATED PRESSBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESSAugust 29, 2025Updated:September 2, 2025No Comments3 Mins Read
    Mexican federal police escort Servando “La Tuta” Gómez, leader of the Knights Templar cartel, as he sits inside helicopter at a federal hangar in Mexico City in February 2015. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Mexico sent 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States in August 2025 as U.S. authorities ratchet up pressure on criminal networks smuggling drugs across the border. Those handed over to U.S. custody include Abigael González Valencia, a leader of “Los Cuinis,” a group closely aligned with notorious cartel Jalisco New Generation or CJNG. Another defendant, Roberto Salazar, is wanted in connection with the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy. Other prominent figures have ties to the Sinaloa cartel and other violent drug trafficking groups.

    The transfers are a milestone for Mexican-U.S. relations. The countries have made dismantling dangerous drug cartels a key priority. It’s the second time in months that Mexico has expelled cartel figures accused of narcotics smuggling, murder and other crimes amid mounting pressure from the U.S.

    “These 26 men have all played a role in bringing violence and drugs to American shores — under this Department of Justice, they will face severe consequences for their crimes against this country,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “We are grateful to Mexico’s National Security team for their collaboration in this matter.”

    The cartel figures were flown to the U.S. after the Justice Department agreed not to seek the death penalty against any of the defendants or against any cartel leaders and members sent to the U.S. in February. That transfer was of 29 cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985.

    “This transfer is yet another example of what is possible when two governments stand united against violence and impunity,” U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said in a statement. “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.”

    Also included in the group expelled in August was Servando Gómez Martinez, also known as “La Tuta,” a former teacher who became one of Mexico’s most-wanted drug lords as head of the Knights Templar cartel. He was captured in 2015 and sentenced to 55 years in a Mexican prison in June 2019.

    Gomez led the quasi-religious criminal group that once exercised absolute control over Michoacan, and he liked to appear in interviews and videos. The cartel orchestrated politics, controlled commerce, dictated rules and preached a code of ethics around devotion to God and family, even as it murdered and plundered.

    Abigael González Valencia is the brother-in-law of CJNG leader Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, a top target of the U.S. government. Abigael González Valencia was arrested in February 2015 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, and had been fighting extradition to the U.S. since then. The U.S. government has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to “El Mencho’s” arrest or conviction.

    Alongside his two brothers, Abigael González Valencia led Los Cuinis, which financed the founding and growth of the CJNG, one of the most powerful and dangerous cartels in Mexico. CJNG traffics hundreds of tons of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the U.S. and other countries and is known for extreme violence, murders, torture and corruption.

    One of his brothers, José González Valencia, was sentenced in Washington’s federal court in June to 30 years in a U.S. prison after pleading guilty to international cocaine trafficking. Jose González Valencia was arrested in 2017 at a beach resort in Brazil while vacationing with his family under a fake name.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Related Posts

    U.S. shipyard joins with Canadian, Finnish firms in bid to build icebreakers

    August 29, 2025

    Upgrades and challenges seen for Royal Bermuda Regiment Coast Guard

    August 27, 2025

    Mexico continues to pressure Sinaloa cartel

    August 26, 2025
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    V6. ENDURING PARTNERSHIPS
    V6. INSERT

    Subscribe and download the latest issue

    The Watch is provided FREE to military and security professionals.

    The Watch
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
    © 2025 The Watch.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Subscribe

    Join The Watch Community to receive important updates on

    Homeland Defense issues, events, and our monthly newsletter.

    Subscribe

    * indicates required