Overview

• Mexico transferred 26 high-ranking cartel suspects to US custody, among them Los Cuinis leader Abigael González Valencia and Roberto Salazar, who now face federal charges carrying up to life in prison.
• The Justice Department pledged not to seek capital punishment for any of the transferred defendants in exchange for Mexico’s cooperation.
• Officials used an expedited national-security procedure rather than the standard extradition process to move the suspects.
• This handover is the year’s second large-scale transfer after Mexico sent 29 alleged traffickers, including Rafael Caro Quintero, in February under similar terms.
• The operation reinforces bilateral law-enforcement collaboration even as questions persist over Mexican sovereignty and the approach’s effectiveness against cartel networks.