Mexico extradites 13 alleged drug traffickers to US

The United States filed an extradition request for Guzman about 2½ weeks before his escape.

Two cartel leaders and a man suspected for the murder of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer are among the 13 alleged drug traffickers that were extradited yesterday (Sept. 30) from Mexico to the United States.

Also extradited were Luis Umberto Hernandez Celis, Jorge Costilla-Sanchez, Carlos Montemayor, Alberto Nunez-Payan, Ricardo Valles de la Rosa, Aureliano Montoya-Pena and Julio Cesar Valenzuela-Elizalde.

Valdez has been at Mexico’s Altiplano maximum security prison for the past several years, the same facility where Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was held until his escape this past summer. According to authorities, Washington in return plans to hand over a few suspects in U.S. jails who are sought by the Mexican government. “Amongst them are criminal association, drug trafficking, homicide, money laundering, importing firearms, and other crimes”.

The timing of the extraditions has led many to believe that Mexico is trying to make amends for the escape of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

An official speaking to CNN about the infamous drug lord said: “It’s significant that the Mexicans are letting him go”. She says that she feels he is innocent and that he was a great father, “When they came and raided our house they found nothing….He was really good with our school he would always be there”. His lawyer said his escape was a direct result of learning that the extradition was imminent.

Extraditions had fallen dramatically since 2012, the final year of President Felipe Calderon’s term, when Mexico sent 115 people to the USA, according to a May report from the Congressional Research Service. Valdez, who headed Beltran-Leyva until his 2010 arrest, faces additional narcotics-related charges in Louisiana.

The Department of Justice announced the extraditions on Wednesday, following a June agreement between U.S. Attorney general Loretta Lynch and Attorney General Arely Gomez Gonzalez of Mexico to fight worldwide organized crime.