Overview

• On August 12, Mexico’s security cabinet and attorney general’s office transferred 26 prisoners to U.S. custody under a Justice Department request on national security grounds.
• The U.S. Department of Justice agreed not to seek capital punishment for any of the detainees as a condition of the transfer.
• Among the transferred were alleged cartel operatives like Abigael González Valencia (“El Cuini”) and Juan Carlos Félix Gastélum (“El Chavo Félix”).
• The U.S. Embassy in Mexico publicly commended President Sheinbaum’s administration for bolstering bilateral efforts to combat organized crime.
• Experts in constitutional and security law have questioned whether the National Security Law provides a valid basis for the transfers, warning of procedural irregularities and potential sovereignty concerns.